Link Centre Dictionary

haughty

UK/ˈhɔːti/ US/ˈhoːtɪj/ uncommon

adjective

1.

having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy

  • “some economists are disdainful of their colleagues in other social disciplines”
  • “haughty aristocrats”
  • “his lordly manners were offensive”
  • “walked with a prideful swagger”
  • “very sniffy about breaches of etiquette”
  • “his mother eyed my clothes with a supercilious air”
  • “a more swaggering mood than usual” W.L.Shirer

Origin

From earlier hauty, haultic, with spelling change in imitation of English naughty and English high, from Middle English hautein, hautain (with -ein, -ain becoming -y through the form hautenesse standing for *hauteinnesse; see haughtiness), from Middle English haute (“self-important”), from Old French haut, hault (“high, lofty”), from Frankish *hauh, *hōh (“high, lofty, proud”) and Latin altus (“high, deep”).

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.