semipedalis

κατὰ τὸν δεύτερον, φασί, πλοῦν τὰ ἐλάχιστα ληπτέον τῶν κακῶν → we must as second best, as people say, take the least of the evils

Latin > English (Lewis & Short)

sēmĭ-pĕdālis: e, adj.,
I a half-foot in size, half a foot long, broad, etc.: apertura, Vitr. 10, 19; Col. 11, 3, 21: spatium, id. 12, 52, 4: altitudo, Plin. 26, 8, 42, § 69: truncus, id. 13, 4, 8, § 37: pisciculus, id. 32, 1, 1, § 3; cf. the foll. art.

sēmĭpĕdālĭs, e, Plin. 26, 69, et sēmĭpĕdānĕus, a, um, Col. Rust. 4, 1, 4, d’un demi-pied.