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vanaglorioso

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word vanaglorioso

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1438 Corbacho More words from the 15th century
Ultimate origin
Latin vānus,glōria
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin vānus
English vain
French vain
Italian vano
Spanish vano
Spanish vanagloria
Spanish vanaglorioso
From the same root
Latin vānēscō ← vānus
Latin vānitās ← vānus
Italian vanire ← vano

Pronunciation

  • /banaɡloˈɾjoso/, [ba.na.ɣ̞loˈɾjo.so][1]

Forms

vanaglorioso (feminine vanagloriosa, masculine plural vanagloriosos, feminine plural vanagloriosas)[1] Alfonso X's General Estoria has the form uaniglorioso.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish vanagloria + -oso.[3][1][4] Echegaray compares Catalan vanagloriós.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas dates it from the Corbacho of 1438.[6][7] DEMel has an earlier record of the variant uaniglorioso in Alfonso X's General Estoria (c. 1275).[2]

Semantic evolution

Nebrija gives the Latin equivalents gloriosus, arrogans and iactator.[8] In the Americas it appears in a 1543 list of faults from Guatemala and in a 1575 text from Mexico, among words for a badly raised son.[9] Autoridades defines it as boastful, smug and conceited, the definition the Academy has kept.[10][3] The 1899 edition first records its use as a noun.[11]

Timeline

  • c. 1275 – the variant uaniglorioso in Alfonso X's General Estoria.[2]
  • 1438 – the Corbacho.[6]
  • c. 1495 – Nebrija gives its Latin equivalents.[8]
  • 1543 – first record from the Americas, in Guatemala.[9]
  • 1739 – Autoridades defines it.[10]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. vainglorious, boastful, conceited; also used as a noun for such a person: No soporto a los vanagloriosos.[3][12][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. vanaglorioso
  3. ^ a b c Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. vanaglorioso
  4. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 1071
  5. ^ Echegaray, Eduardo de (1887–1889), Diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: José María Faquineto, p. 657
  6. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. vano
  7. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 738
  8. ^ a b Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 428
  9. ^ a b Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. vanaglorioso
  10. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 6, 418
  11. ^ Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 1003
  12. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. vanaglorioso
Cite this entry

“Vanaglorioso.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/vanaglorioso. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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