pedestrial
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Etymology: From Latin pedester, -esteris, from pes, pedis (“a foot”). Compare French pédestere. See pedal and pedestrian.
Senses: examples: text: Having now so amply declared unto thee most of the principal things of this thrice-renowned and illustrious city, I will briefly by way of an epitome mention most of the other particulars thereof, and so finally shut up this narration: there are reported to be in Venice and the circumjacent islands two hundred churches in which are one hundred forth-three pairs of organs, fifty-four monasteries, twenty-six nunneries, fifty-six tribunals or places of judgment, seventeen hospitals, six companies or fraternities, whereof I have before spoken; one hundred and sixty-five marble statues of worthy personages, partly equestrial, partly pedestrial, which are erected in sundry places of the city, to the honour of those that either at home have prudently administered the commonweal, or abroad valiantly fought for the same.
ref: 1611, Thomas Coryate, Coryat's Crudities hastily gobbled up in Five Months Travels in France, Italy, &c:
text: The curtains were closely drawn round the bed, but two bony, spindle shanks, terminating in a pedestrial form, protruded from beneath the drapery, an indication that the meagre little figure of the old lady was about to descend to the floor.
ref: 1866, Mary Ann Fisher, A Spinster's Story, page 182:
text: Extra compensation was allowed for built-in heating systems for the melting of ice and snow on exterior pedestrial ramps not exceeding 6% grade where this work was beyond the scope of the contract, which provided that ramps exceeding 6% grade were to have heating systems.
ref: 1960, United States. Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, Board of Contract Appeals Decisions, page 12-649:
text: Pedestrial and vehicular traffic were almost completely separated ( Figure 4 ) .
ref: 1969, Attempts to Control Urbanization, page 24:
text: If you hope to avoid driving in Los Angeles, your best bets for living a pedestrial lifesyle are: Larchmont Village, along Fairfax Avenue in Hollywood, near Main Street in Santa Monica, or in Los Feliz Village around Hillhurst.
ref: 1996, Moving to Los Angeles, page P-16:
text: Conversely, the Stranger now seems to link the branch of pedestrial, nonwinged animals with the absence of phronêsis: he asks Young Socrates whether he does not believe that "even one most lacking in phronêsis [ ton aphronestaton ], so to speak," would hold that political nurture must be sought under the branch of pedestrial animals.
ref: 1998, Jacob Howland, The Paradox of Political Philosophy: Socrates' Philosophic Trial, page 252:
text: pedestrial animals
glosses: Of or pertaining to the feet or walking; using or for use by the foot or feet.
examples: text: But it is also an interesting contribution to the technical literature about Dewey, for it is no pedestrial summary of the views about to be presented in extenso in the text, but a vigorous and enthusiastic exposition and defense of the thesis: "With respect to some specific problems, alternative solutions are possible, but with respect to the basic problem of scientific method there is no valid alternative to Dewey's solution."
ref: 1941, Jacob Gould Schurman, James Edwin Creighton, Frank Thilly, The Philosophical Review - Volume 50, page 83:
text: For a government which contemplated Ethiopia's "blow up" for at least some ten years and had put a high premium on maintaining "good relations with the Emperor," Washington's pedestrial reaction to the fall of Haile Sellassie shows, among other things, how untroubled it was by the revolutionary developments in Ethiopia.
ref: 1981, Northeast African Studies - Volume 3, page 17:
glosses: Unenthusiastic; tepid.
examples: text: 'Imperial idol!' 'bent the knee!' damn it, my dear fellow, writing vaudevilles has ruined your style; you can't come down to pedestrial prose.
ref: 1895, Honoré de Balzac, The Human Comedy:
text: This one a pedestrial Western
ref: 1966, Cue: The Weekly Magazine of New York Life, page 65:
text: He opened by stating that “'Miss Liberty' is a disappointing musical comedy . . . put together without sparkle or originality.” He calls the book “a pedestrial tale” and the score “not one of Mr. Berlin's most memorable."
ref: 2015, William A. Everett, Paul R. Laird, Historical Dictionary of the Broadway Musical, page 227:
glosses: Unoriginal and unexciting; pedestrian; tiresome.
Derived terms: pedestrially