ex pede Herculem

phrase

A maxim of proportionality: one can extrapolate the size of a thing from the size of a part.

OriginLatin [Term?] →
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Meanings

phrase
  1. A maxim of proportionality: one can extrapolate the size of a thing from the size of a part.

    When he made this handy list Albert Henry Poleash little thought—Boots, size 9; […] weight, 11st. 81bs. There we have the man: Ex pede Herculem, as the motto has it—only in this case of course the hat and gloves are more useful.

    1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries

Origin

  1. Latin[Term?]
  2. Englishex pede Herculem

Latin [Term?] (literally “from his foot, [we can measure] Hercules”)

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

ex pede Herculem. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ex%20pede%20Herculem

MLA

“ex pede Herculem.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ex%20pede%20Herculem. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ex pede Herculem,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ex%20pede%20Herculem.

Source: ex pede Herculem on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.