rhopalic

Latin rhopalicus, from Ancient Greek ῥόπαλον (rhópalon, “club, bat”).

rhopalic (comparative more rhopalic, superlative most rhopalic)

1. (poetry, rhetoric) Having each successive word longer by a letter or syllable.
   • 1986 October 26, Alan Truscott, “Talking About Behavior”, in The New York Times:

     Soapy fired off a rhopalic sentence, that is, one in which each word is one letter longer than the word that precedes it: "I am the only dummy player, perhaps, planning maneuvers calculated brilliantly, nevertheless outstandingly pachydermatous, notwithstanding unconstitutional unprofessionalism."

rhopalic (plural rhopalics)

1. A rhopalic poem.

• Orphical