“Words, words, words” said Hamlet, in response to Polonius’ question, “What do you read, my lord?”

I love words. Their meanings and origins fascinate me. That a few written symbols or brief intonations in verbal conversation can convey powerful concepts or subtle nuances of meaning is a remarkable testament to the intricacies of the human intellect and richness of our culture.

One of my favorite daily email subscriptions is the Visual Thesaurus Word of the Day. I enjoy spending a few moments each day reading about the meaning and origin of some new, obscure word. Last week, up popped a new word that was sublime in its apt description of itself.

“Sesquipedalian” means, literally, “given to using long words.” It was derived from the Latin word “sésquipeda-lis” = “measuring a foot and a half.” Quite descriptive of itself, don’t you think?

So yes, I do have a predisposition to using “foot and a half” long words. In the words of my daughter Heidi, who also suffers from the same malady, “Why use a long word when a diminutive one will do?

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