What's the point of a word like "pulchritudinous"?

It's a prehistoric word. One of the least beautiful words used to describe how beautiful a person is.

>>8884043
To be deliberately obtuse, most likely as a way to self-validate years spent in a library instead of the outside world.

The same reason painters don't paint using only primary colors.

That's like asking why would we need colour violet when red is equally striking

Why does Shakespeare have Gertrude say

"Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off,
And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.
Do not forever with thy vailèd lids
Seek for thy noble father in the dust.
Thou know’st ’tis common. All that lives must die,
Passing through nature to eternity" ?

Why doesn't she just say "Cheer up, son!" ?

>>8884043
From Latin pulcher, which means beautiful.

It's a gorgeous word.

>>8884085
Good question; the Shakespeare passage you give works though. But look - there aren't any particularly complex words there. If the concept of beauty came up in the same passage, wouldn't you see a word like "beauty" as more effective than "pulchritude"?

>>8884154
the basal "Pul" and hard "Kre" of the word make pronouncing it far less symbiotic with the actual meaning. The "Bew/Be yew" in Beauty has a soft roll and a soft E which is less violent to pronounce.