Where does “uppity” come from?
Uppity comes from English up combined with French -ité, Latin -itas, and Proto-Indo-European -it-, ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European upó meaning above or over.
uppity (English): Presumptuous, above oneself, self-important;...
Definitions
- Presumptuous, above oneself, self-important;...
Ancestry of “uppity”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | uppedy | — |
| 2 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 3 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 4 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |