Meanings
comparative more rhopalic · superlative most rhopalic
- rhetoriccommunicationsHaving each successive word longer by a letter or syllable.
Soapy fired off a rhopalic sentence, that is, one in which each word is one letter longer than the word that precedes it: "I am the only dummy player, perhaps, planning maneuvers calculated brilliantly, nevertheless outstandingly pachydermatous, notwithstanding unconstitutional unprofessionalism."
1986 October 26, Alan Truscott, “Talking About Behavior”, in The New York Times
Origin
- Ancient Greekῥόπαλον“club, bat”
- Latinrhopalicus
- Englishrhopalic
From Latin rhopalicus, from Ancient Greek ῥόπαλον (rhópalon, “club, bat”).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French rhopalique
- rhopaliqueincreasing
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
rhopalic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rhopalic
“rhopalic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rhopalic. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rhopalic,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rhopalic.
Source: rhopalic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.