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haughty

Etymology and origin of the English word haughty

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhɔːti/ (UK); /ˈhɔti/, /ˈhɑti/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is an extension of obsolete haught “high, proud”[2][3][4][5] with the suffix -y,[2][3][5] on the model of might/mighty and naught/naughty.[2][3] Haught is from Middle English haute,[6][2][4] from Old French haut (“high”),[6][2][4] from Latin altus (“high”),[6][2][4][5] with an initial h- from Frankish *hōh “high”.[6][2][5] The spelling with -gh- arose in the late 16th century after words like caught.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Too proud; lofty and disdainful (1530).[7][2]

Semantic evolution

The earlier haute meant noble or excellent,[2] and haughty also had the sense of exalted or high-minded (1563),[7][5] now archaic.[7] The literal sense “high, lofty” is obsolete.[7] Middle English also had hautein and hautif in the sense “proud”.[3]

Timeline

  • probably before 1400 – haute, noble.[2]
  • 1530 – too proud, disdainful.[7][2]
  • 1563 – exalted, lofty in character, now archaic.[7]
  • 1570 – literally high, now obsolete.[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Scornfully and condescendingly proud; arrogant or supercilious.
  2. (archaic) Lofty or noble.

Word family

  • haughtily
  • haughtiness
  • hauteur
  • altitude

Usage notes

Random House gives lordly, disdainful and contemptuous as synonyms, refers to proud for a discussion, and gives humble, unpretentious and unassuming as antonyms.[5]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Haughty.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/haughty. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·