Where does “haughty” come from?
Haughty comes from Middle English hautein, derived from Old French (implied in the chain), ultimately from Latin altus meaning "high," which developed the sense of "arrogantly superior" through the notion of elevated station.
haughty (English): Conveying in demeanour the assumption of...
Definitions
- Conveying in demeanour the assumption of...
Ancestry of “haughty”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | hautein | haughty; proud; high |
| 2 | Middle English | haute | self-important |
| 3 | Old French | haut | high |
| 4 | Latin | altus | high, tall; deep; profound |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | altos | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eltós | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂él- | — |
Words derived from “haughty”