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narcissistic

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Etymology and origin of the English word narcissistic

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1915
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek Νάρκισσος
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English narcissism
English narcissistic

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌnɑː.sɪˈsɪs.tɪk/[1]
  • US: /ˌnɑɹ.sɪˈsɪs.tɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English narcissism + -istic,[2][3][4] or, in the OED's analysis, from narcissus with the same suffix.[5] Merriam-Webster takes it from German narzissistisch.[6] The noun narcissism follows Narzissismus, coined in 1899 by the psychiatrist Paul Näcke, after a comparison Havelock Ellis suggested in 1898,[2][5] from Ancient Greek Νάρκισσος (Nárkissos), the youth in Greek myth who fell in love with his own reflection and was turned into the flower.[2][7] The Greek name of the flower was associated with νάρκη (nárkē, “numbness”), but Beekes, as quoted by Etymonline, takes it as Pre-Greek.[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Characterized by excessive self-admiration: 1915, in a journal entry of the psychologist L. E. Emerson.[5][6] Etymonline dates it to 1912.[2]

Semantic evolution

The adjective arose in psychology and keeps the sense of the noun, excessive love or admiration of oneself.[5][3] The OED notes the slightly later variant narcistic,[5] which Etymonline calls an error.[2]

Timeline

  • 1915 – marked by narcissism, excessive self-love.[5][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Having or showing too much admiration of oneself; vain and self-absorbed: a narcissistic film star who talked only about himself.[6][5][3]
  2. Of, relating to or characterized by narcissism, including the psychiatric condition.[6][5]

Word family

  • nonnarcissistic

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
Cite this entry

“Narcissistic.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/narcissistic. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·