Building a Better Vocabulary

Lecture 27: Words for Words

ż Satchmo for Louis Armstrong

ż The Great Bambino, the Sultan of Swat, the Titan of Terror, the

Colossus of Clout, and the Babe for George Herman “Babe” Ruth.

z Sobriquet comes from an Old French word meaning “a chuck under

the chin,” reminding us that sobriquets are often—but not always—

jesting or humorous.

Sesquipedalian (adjective)

1. Given to the overuse of long words.


2. Long and ponderous, polysyllabic.

z All of the following words can be described as sesquipedalian:

ż Electroencephalograph

ż Deinstitutionalization

ż Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (a lung disease)

ż Antidisestablishmentarianism.

z According to John Ayto’s Dictionary of Word Origins,

sesquipedalian as an English word was inspired by Horace,

the Roman poet. Horace criticized the pretentious use of long,

pompous-sounding words, using the phrase sesquipedalia verba,

which literally means “words a foot and a half long.”

z Sesquipedalian comes from the Latin sesqui- (“half as much

again”) and ped ³IRRW ́ 7KH SUH¿[sesqui- is also found in

sesquicentennial, a 150-year anniversary or celebration.

Somniloquy (noun)

Sleep talking.