dictum, sesquipedality/sesquicentennial /move beyond the history

OPINION | OP-ED COLUMNIST The Trump-Farage Road Show By ROGER COHEN As Brexit showed, this is an age whose winning political dictum is: Disruption at any cost.

War and Peace is 150 this year. Sadie Stein on the history of its publication: http://bit.ly/1DCmtFS

“War and Peace” Turns 150 This Year

2015 marks the sesquicentennial for Tolstoy’s classic—depending on how you count.

THEPARISREVIEW.ORG|由 TIERRA INNOVATION 上傳

Taiwan, China Warily Celebrate Centennial
NPR
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou urged China's government on Monday to pursue democracy and respect his island's self-governance as the two sides mark the centennial of a revolution that ended 2000 years of imperial Chinese rule. Both Taiwan and China ...


China's president urges unification with rival Taiwan, heal past wounds
Washington Post
By AP, BEIJING — China's president on Sunday used the centennial of a revolution that ended imperial rule to make an appeal to further relations with Taiwan, saying they should move beyond the history that divides them and focus on common economic and ...

dictum

ˈdɪktəm/

noun

1. a formal pronouncement from an authoritative source.

   "the dicta of High Court Judges"

   • a short statement that expresses a general truth or principle.

     "the old dictum ‘might is right’"

sesquipedality (ses-kwi-pi-DAL-i-tee)

noun: The practice of using long words.

Etymology
From Latin sesqui- (one and a half) + ped- (foot). First recorded use: 1759.

Notes
Literally speaking, sesquipedality is using words that are one and a half feet long. A related word is sesquicentennial (150th anniversary). Nothing wrong with using a sesquipedalian word once in a while, if it fits, but it's best to avoid too many long, polysyllabic words. This dictum doesn't apply to German speakers though, as Mark Twain once observed, "Some German words are so long that they have a perspective." There's a bean subspecies commonly known as a yardlong bean. It's really misnamed as it "only" half a yard long. Its scientific name, Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis, is more precise.
Usage
"The stories in Oblivion comprise relatively straightforward prose, with textual play and sesquipedality trimmed to the bone." — Tim Feeney; Oblivion; Review of Contemporary Fiction; Jul 2004.

sesquicentennial

Line breaks: ses¦qui|cen¦ten|nial

Pronunciation: /ˌsɛskwɪsɛnˈtɛnɪəl /

Definition of sesquicentennial in English:

ADJECTIVE

Relating to a sesquicentenary:as the town’s sesquicentennial celebrations get under way

MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES

NOUN

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A sesquicentenary:the Texas Sesquicentennial was just two years away