Talk:Sesquiquartum

How is this term logical??

Please read very slowly and carefully:

• About half a year ago, Louis Epstein showed me the proposed terms "quasquicentenarian" and "sesquicentenarian" for someone alive at age 125 and age 150, respectively. I have been wondering how these terms are logical using dictionaries and Internet sites. By studying dictionary.com, I looked up sesqui- and it means "and a half", from semi-, which I already knew meant half, and "qui" meaning "and". Thus, "sesquicentenarian" properly implies 100 + (100/2) = 100 + 50 = 150 years. Similarly, quasqui- can mean "and a quarter", coming from quarter- and the same "qui" element. Several dictionaries have the sesqui- prefix in them, but no dictionary has the quasqui- prefix. However, there is one dictionary mentioning a quasqui word as well as several sesqui words, showing me how logical it is. Thus, by mid-August to early-September, I've come to agree with Louis that these terms are logical.

However, how about this word, sesquiquartum?? "Sesquialterum" is a term for 1 1/2, which makes sense to me using the above logic, but this is not the correct equivalent for 1 1/4. How was this word, as opposed to the equally-logical "quasquialterum", chosen, to be exact?? (Feel free to mention any Internet site that tells the history of this word.) 66.245.107.78 01:51, 15 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Who said languages are logical? :-D The element "sesqui-" etymologically means "and a half", but its use was particularized to mean "one and a half" (for "two and a half" the Romans coined the term "sestertius", from semis tertius, which has a parallel in Danish halvtreds, both meaning "half [way between the second and] the third"). From "one and a half" it then ended up being used with the meaning "one and [some other fraction]", so the "sesqui" in "sesquiquartum" means "one and" instead of "and a half" and the "quartum" part specifies the fraction added to that "one and". Etymologically the neologism "quasqui-" (from quadrans + -que) is more logical to refer to "1 1/4", and "sesquiquartum" would make more sense if it meant "3/8" (one quarter plus half a quarter). 213.37.6.106 05:12, 29 May 2007 (UTC)