Etymologically
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superbus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word superbus

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Confidence
Probable
Formation
Compound
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (super)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [sʊˈpɛr.bʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [suˈpɛr.bus][1]

Forms

superbus (feminine superba, neuter superbum, comparative superbior, superlative superbissimus, adverb superbē or superbiter); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from super “above” and a second element ⟨-bus⟩ that the OLD and Etymonline take to be the root of ⟨fuī⟩ “I was” (Proto-Indo-European ⟨*bʰuH-⟩ “to grow, be”), formed like probus.[2][3] Wiktionary instead derives it from Proto-Italic ⟨*superiðos⟩, from ⟨super⟩ with the suffix -idus.[1] Lewis & Short compare Ancient Greek ὑπέρβιος (hupérbios, “overweening”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of proud, haughty people.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant proud, haughty, disdainful, and was the epithet of Tarquin, the last king of Rome (Tarquinius Superbus), in Cicero.[2] It also described faces, words and the trappings of power that showed pride, honours that were a source of pride, as in Virgil, and grand, sumptuous buildings, as in Catullus.[2] Columella names a variety of pear superba.[2]

Döderlein distinguishes superbia, which looks down on others, from arrogantia, which claims what others owe.[6] In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant arrogant, proud, insolent.[7] It survives in Spanish soberbio and Portuguese soberbo, and through French superbe it gave English superb in the 1540s, “noble, magnificent”.[1][3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of proud people.[2][5]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses it of grand things.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero names Tarquin Superbus.[2][5]
  • 1540s – English superb is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Proud, haughty, disdainful.[2]
  2. Showing pride.[2]
  3. That is a source of pride.[2]
  4. Grand, sumptuous, superb.[2]

Word family

  • superbia
  • superbificus
  • superbiloquentia
  • superbiō
  • superbē
  • superbiter
  • arrogans
  • insolens
  • fastidiosus
  • vanus
  • elatus
  • super
  • English superb

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Superbus.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/superbus. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·