sesquipedalis
Latin
Etymology
From sēsquipes (“1½ feet”) + -ālis (“-al: forming adjectives”), from sēsqui- (“a half and a”) + pes (“foot, Roman foot”). Equivalent to sēsqui- + pedālis (“footlong”).
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [seːs.kʷɪ.pɛˈdaː.lɪs]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ses.kʷi.peˈd̪aː.lis]
Adjective
sēsquipedālis (neuter sēsquipedāle); third-declension two-termination adjective
- (relational) A foot and a half, half a yard
- (relational) A foot and a half long, half a yard long
- Excessively long (of speeches)
Declension
Third-declension two-termination adjective.
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masc./fem. | neuter | masc./fem. | neuter | ||
| nominative | sēsquipedālis | sēsquipedāle | sēsquipedālēs | sēsquipedālia | |
| genitive | sēsquipedālis | sēsquipedālium | |||
| dative | sēsquipedālī | sēsquipedālibus | |||
| accusative | sēsquipedālem | sēsquipedāle | sēsquipedālēs sēsquipedālīs |
sēsquipedālia | |
| ablative | sēsquipedālī | sēsquipedālibus | |||
| vocative | sēsquipedālis | sēsquipedāle | sēsquipedālēs | sēsquipedālia | |
Descendants
- English: sesquipedal
- Italian: sesquipedale
- Spanish: sesquipedal
References
- “sesquipedalis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “sesquipedalis”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- sesquipedalis in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.