Etymograph

English

haughty

Haughty comes from Middle English haute ‘self-important’, from Old French haut ‘high (elevated)’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kewk- ‘to bend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kewk-‘to bend’root as named
  2. Frankishc. 250–700*hauhreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaltus‘high, tall’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400haut‘high (elevated)’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500haute‘self-important’
  6. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500hautein
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1922haughty

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kewk-‘to bend’root as named
  2. Frankishc. 250–700*hauhreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaltus‘high, tall’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400haut‘high (elevated)’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500haute‘self-important’
  6. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500hautein
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1922haughty

Earliest quotation: 1922, Michael Arlen, 3/1/1: “How meek and shrunken did that haughty Tarmac become…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kewk- ‘to bend’

high, huge, height, 7 more

through Latin altus ‘high, tall’

altitude, alt, altar, alto, exalt, altimeter, 13 more

through Old French haut ‘high (elevated)’

haut, 4 more

Today it means

adj Conveying in demeanour the assumption of superiority; disdainful, supercilious.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kewk- / haughty

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