SESQUIPEDALIA

 SESQUIPEDALIA

Sesquipedalian is a reference to the long words. Some persons in the habit of using very long words are also named ‘sesquipedalian’. The term is an adjective and it refers to the routine practice among teachers trying to impart abstract ideas by throwing up long-winding words to draw attention. If the Professor makes it customary for his way of ‘teaching’, he is bound to earn the wrath of his students as more of a nuisance value than of any nuance value. However, an occasional use of sesquipedalian can transform the mood of listeners from a drab impact to one demanding attention. Sesquipedalia are terms studded with letters and may initially de-motivate learners,  as those terms look both bizarre and baffling by the innate difficulty to spell them comfortably. There is a saying in English which suggests “Sesquipedalian is itself a sesquipedalian”. In my personal opinion these are terms laboriously coined by assembling different terms which when viewed [as in that assembly] can present an intended idea.

HIPPOPOTOMONSTROSEQUIPEDALIPHOBIA [36 LETTERS] It relates to ‘phobia’ or fear [for social reasons] while undertaking long treatment. To make it more frightening, terms –Hippopotamus/ monsters have been added making it even more sesquipedalian.

PSEUDOPSEUDOHYPOPARATHYRODISM [30 LETTERS]

It is the name of an inherited disorder causing short growth, rounded face, short limb bones and hardened joints. As suggested earlier, different words are assembled to make it a name for the disorder.

SUPERCALIFRAGILISTCEXPIALIDOCIOUS [34 LETTERS]

After traversing so long, all that it means is ‘Extremely good”/ Great/ Glorious/ Splendid / Superb/ Wonderful, though implies just one meaning at a time.  Honestly it irritates though none of us is obliged to remember or reproduce this without the prospect of inserting an error or two in this 34 letter series.

HONORIFICABILITUDINITATIBUS [27 LETTERS]

It simply means ‘the state of being able to achieve honours / honourable/ Invincible glorious. This term is hailed, as the earliest sesquipedalian handed down by Shakespeare. What is more appealing is -the word is coined with vowels and consonants alternating.

FLOCCINAUCINIHILPILIFIICATION [29 LETTERS]

Though longer than the alphabet series, it pertains to the cramped attitude of ESTIMATING ANYTHING AS WORTHLESS. I have heard of such trends in some industrial establishments.

ANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM [28 LETTERS]

It is a reference to ‘opposition to the withdrawal of state support or recognition from an established church of England’.

 

Having had a heavy meal of ‘SESQUIPEDALIA’, any further may mean indigestion/ nausea. So, let us move off a bit into the domain of Pleonasm.

PLEONASM

Pleonasm refers to the habit of using more words than necessary to express an idea. It is easier for us to grasp the idea of ‘Pleonasm’, as we frequently come across people who dwell on redundant repeats. They feel happy to have conveyed the idea, though they do not readily convince the listener. Some typical expressions we notice are:

‘I saw it with my own eyes’ [none can see through another’s eye nor are there any borrowed eyes]

All are well and good is another expression; since ‘well’ and ‘good’ mean the same

At times pleonasm may be effective in conferring emphasis on to the statement. As for example

‘The most unkindest cut of all’ –Shakespeare [Julius Caesar] more superlatives are employed to add emphasis.

Pleonasm is not a healthy way of handling the language; more words of the same meaning suggest the speaker’s poverty in clarity and statements are ‘RHETORIC’ in effect.

Prof. K. Raman