sesquipedalian
/ˌsɛs.kwɪ.pɪˈdeɪ.lɪ.ən/
"sesquipedalian" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sesquipedalian” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - A long word.
Corpus desk
Index EN-sesquipedalian · sesquipedalian · English
sesquipedalian · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-7 7 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sesquipedalian |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌsɛs.kwɪ.pɪˈdeɪ.lɪ.ən/ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sesquipedalian” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
sesquipedalian is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌsɛs.kwɪ.pɪˈdeɪ.lɪ.ən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for sesquipedalian, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From sesquipedal + -ian (adjective- and noun-forming suffix), root from Latin sēsquipedālis (literally “a foot and a half long”), from Latin sēsqui (“one and a half times”) + Latin pedālis (“measuring a foot, foot (relational)”) (an adjective from pēs (“foo… The correct English form is sesquipedalian, spelled S-E-S-Q-U-I-P-E-D-A-L-I-A-N.
Definition
- 1A long word.
- 2A person who uses long words.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how sesquipedalian appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
“The fine old fellow,” as a Northern contemporary of ours patronizingly calls him, certainly rolled out his sesquipedalians with a majesty previously unknown, and gave a fine organ-like swell to his full-blow periods;
Fleet-streetese, the so-called English written to sell by the Fleet-streeter (q.v.), or baser sort of journalist: a mixture of sesquipedalians and slang, of phrases worn threadbare and phrases sprung from the kennel;
Etymology
From sesquipedal + -ian (adjective- and noun-forming suffix), root from Latin sēsquipedālis (literally “a foot and a half long”), from Latin sēsqui (“one and a half times”) + Latin pedālis (“measuring a foot, foot (relational)”) (an adjective from pēs (“foot”)).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.