sesquicentennial, a. and n. Chiefly U.S.
(ˌsɛskwɪsɛnˈtɛnɪəl)
[f. sesqui- + centennial.]
A. adj. Pertaining to a celebration of a hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary.
| 1888 Advance (Chicago) 9 Aug., The sesquicentennial celebration of the church. 1896 Academy 6 June 468/2 The sesquicentennial celebration of the University of Princeton, New Jersey. |
B. n. Such a celebration or anniversary.
| 1880 Lond. & Prov. Mus. Trades Rev. 15 Nov. 3/1 The Sesqui-centennial of Baltimore was celebrated during the second week of October. 1931 [see red n.1 1 g]. 1976 Times Lit. Suppl. 12 Mar. 278/2 In 1926 the sesquicentennial [of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations] was celebrated more modestly with a series of lectures given in the new home of economic orthodoxy, the London School of Economics. 1978 Nature 8 June 421/2 This year is the sesquicentennial of the announcement by Wöhler that marked the birth of synthetic organic chemistry. |