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Sesquipedalian

Prosody
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Characterized by long, multisyllabic words; often used to describe excessively elaborate or grandiloquent language

Detailed Definition
Sesquipedalian language comprises predominantly polysyllabic, often Latin-derived vocabulary, creating elaborate, pompous, or intellectually impressive effects, as in phrases like "sesquipedalian discourse" itself. In poetry, sesquipedalian diction can achieve various effects: emphasizing intellectual sophistication and classical learning, creating ironic inflation of mundane subjects, or establishing formal elevated tone; many neoclassical and Victorian poets embraced sesquipedalian language to demonstrate cultural refinement and linguistic mastery.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” sesquipedalian words like “multifarious” and “incomprehensible” convey epic scope; In Browning’s “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,” “Cyclopean” and “antediluvian” add archaic weight; In academic poetry, sesquipedalian diction appears in Auden’s “The Shield of Achilles”: “incorrigibly plural”; In satirical verse, Pope mocks sesquipedalianism in “Peri Bathous”: “Learn to write jargon, and to talk by rote”; In modern poetry, Ashbery uses sesquipedalian words like “sesquipedalian” itself for ironic complexity; In Victorian poetry, Tennyson’s “The Palace of Art” employs sesquipedalian terms like “effulgence” for ornate effect.
Additional Notes
Sesquipedalian literally means "a foot and a half long" and describes long, polysyllabic words (e.g., "antidisestablishmentarianism"). In prosody, sesquipedalian words challenge metrical regularity due to their multiple syllables and complex stress patterns. Poets may use them for comic, satirical, or ornate effects—e.g., in Alexander Pope’s mock-heroic verse. Scanning such words requires attention to natural stress and possible reductions (e.g., schwa insertion). The term itself is often used humorously in discussions of poetic diction.
Also Known As
long word polysyllabic word (colloquially)
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