different between polysyllabism vs polysyllabic

English

Noun

polysyllabism (usually uncountable, plural polysyllabisms)

1. (linguistics) The state or characteristic of having or using words containing multiple syllables, sometimes as a stage in the development of language.
   • 1936, Martin Joos, "Book Review: The Psycho-Biology of Language by George K. Zipf," Language, vol. 12, no. 3 (July/Sep), p. 202,

     Chinese polysyllabism is a sort of synthesis, or aggregation, or 'addition' of morphemes and their meanings.

2. Polysyllabicism.
   • 1867, William Dwight Whitney, Language and the Study of Language, Scribner, New York, p. 348,

     Cumbrous compounds are formed as the names of objects and a character of tedious and time-wasting polysyllabism is given to the language.

Related terms

• polysyllabic
• polysyllabicity
• polysyllable

References

• “polysyllabism” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.

English

Etymology

poly- +? syllabic

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p?.l?.s??læ.b?k/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /?p?.l?.s??læ.b?k/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /?p?.li.s??læ.b?k/
• Rhymes: -æb?k
• Hyphenation: po?ly?syl?la?bic

Adjective

polysyllabic (not comparable)

1. (of a word) Having more than one syllable; having multiple or many syllables.

   "Antidisestablishmentarianism" definitely qualifies as a polysyllabic word.

   ‘Polysyllabic’ is a polysyllabic word.

2. (of spoken or written language) Characterized by or consisting of words having numerous syllables.

   I have a particularly off-putting predilection for the utilization of ponderously polysyllabic linguistic constructions.

Usage notes

Authoritative sources disagree concerning the precise number of syllables needed for a word to count as polysyllabic. The references cited below variously stipulate anywhere from more than one syllable to four or more. In general usage, a polysyllabic word is a word which is regarded as lengthy and polysyllabic writing or speech is often regarded as elaborate, overly lengthy, or excessively complex.

Synonyms

• (of a word): multisyllabic

Antonyms

• monosyllabic
• brachysyllabic

Related terms

• polysyllable
• polysyllabicism
• polysyllabicity
• polysyllabism

Translations

Noun

polysyllabic (plural polysyllabics)

1. A word having more than one syllable

References

• “polysyllabic” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "polysyllabic" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007)
• “polysyllabic”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary (1987-1996)
• Oxford English Dictionary, second edition (1989)