Arrogance

How to spell arrogance

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce arrogance

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does arrogance mean?

1. nounAn offensive attitude of superiority, born of an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or ability.

Arrogance in a sentence

• His arrogance in meetings alienated the rest of the team.

• The report criticised the bank for the arrogance of its leadership.

Where does arrogance come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin arrogantia, meaning a claiming of too much for oneself. It was built on the verb arrogare, which combined ad, meaning 'to' or 'toward', with rogare, meaning 'to ask' or 'to claim'. Literally, then, to arrogate something was to claim it for yourself without any right to it, and arrogance is the attitude of a person who behaves as though everything is owed to them. English took the word in through Old French in the 1300s, keeping the doubled r that arose when the Latin prefix ad assimilated to the following r. The same rogare root still surfaces in relatives such as 'interrogate' (to ask between or among) and 'prerogative' (a right asked for in advance), and remembering that the prefix is really ad- becoming ar- explains the easily forgotten double r.

How the word is built

• ar- (assimilated form of ad-: to, toward)
• rog (from Latin rogare: to ask, to claim)
• -ance (noun-forming suffix)