sesquipedalianism

The story

1. Latin · derived fromsēsquipedālis“a foot and a half long; in metaphorical use, “of an unnatural length, huge, big””
2. English todaysesquipedalianism

Surface form analyzed as sesquipedalian + -ism, from sesqui- (“one and a half”) + pedalian (“of the foot”). From Latin sēsquipedālis (“a foot and a half long; in metaphorical use, “of an unnatural length, huge, big””), from sēsqui (“one and a half times as great”) + pedālis (“foot”).

Words from the same roots