arrogance
/ˈær.ə.ɡəns/
noun
Origin
Latin
arrogantia — arrogance, presumption
Overview
Meaning Now
- An exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities; overbearing pride.
- A state of showing an offensive attitude of superiority.
Literal older meaning
A claiming of something for oneself (from Latin 'ad' + 'rogare').
Language path
Latin → Old French → English
Earliest form
arrogance
Earliest period
14th century
Journey
The term is derived from the Latin verb 'arrogare', which literally meant 'to claim or attribute to oneself'. In ancient Rome, it carried the nuance of taking liberties or asserting a right that one did not possess, which evolved into the modern sense of social haughtiness.
Evolution
- Latin
arrogans
“claiming for oneself, presumptuous”
Present participle of arrogare.
- Old French
arrogance
“presumption, haughtiness”
Directly inherited from the Latin noun form.
- Middle English
arrogance
“pride, overbearingness”
Adopted from Old French.
Connections
Word parts
ad-
prefix
to
rogare
root
to ask, to claim
-ance
suffix
forming a noun denoting state or quality
Related across languages
French
arrogance
Spanish
arrogancia
arrogance
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Related to arrogance
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.