proud

Pronunciation

• IPA: /praʊd/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English proud,^[2] inherited from Old English prūd and prūt,^[3][2][4] probably borrowed from Old French prud (“brave, valiant”), the oblique case of prouz (modern French preux),^[3][2][5] from Late Latin prōde (“advantageous, profitable”),^[3][2] from Latin prōdesse (“to be useful”),^[3][4] from prōd-, a form of prō-, and esse (“to be”).^[3][2] The Old English form in -t was probably influenced by pride, Old English prȳte.^[3] It is related to prowess and prude,^[2][3] and to improve.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having a high opinion of oneself, haughty: about 1000,^[2][6] and in late Old English also “excellent, splendid”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The sense “having a high opinion of oneself” is not found in Old French; it may reflect what the English thought of the Norman knights who called themselves prud.^[3] Middle English prude meant “noble, splendid” about 1150,^[2] and “valiant” in the 14th century.^[4] “Feeling honoured, elated by something done to one” is from about 1250,^[6] and the stately or grand sense, of things, from the 13th century.^[4] Proud of is from 1422,^[6] and justifiable self-respect from 1738.^[6] Proud flesh, swollen tissue round a healing wound, dates from late Middle English,^[7] and in the 16th century the adjective also meant “swollen, overgrown”.^[4] Do someone proud is from 1819.^[3] The surname Proudfoot is recorded about 1200, and Middle English pitcher-proud meant “drunk and belligerent”.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – haughty, arrogant.^[2][6]
• c. 1150 – noble, splendid.^[2]
• c. 1250 – elated, feeling honoured.^[6]
• 1422 – proud of.^[6]
• 16th century – swollen, overgrown.^[4]
• 1738 – having self-respect.^[6]
• 1819 – do someone proud.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Feeling pleasure or satisfaction in something one has done or is connected with.
2. Having proper self-respect.
3. Having too high an opinion of oneself; arrogant.
4. Stately or magnificent.
5. (chiefly British) Slightly projecting from a surface.

Adverb

1. do someone proud: to treat someone very well.

Word family

• proudly
• proudness
• misproud
• proudful
• proudhearted
• unproud
• purse-proud
• house-proud

Related words

• pride
• prude
• prideful
• prowess
• improve

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary contrasts proud, which can suggest dignity or justifiable self-respect, with arrogant, haughty, disdainful and supercilious, which all imply contempt for others.^[8]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin