Pride

How to spell pride

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce pride

What does pride mean?

1. nounA feeling of deep satisfaction in one's own achievements, qualities, or possessions.
2. verbTo be especially satisfied with a quality or accomplishment of one's own (used reflexively, as 'pride oneself on').
3. nounA family group of lions living and hunting together.

Pride in a sentence

• noun

  She felt a quiet pride when her daughter graduated.

• verb

  The firm likes to pride itself on fast delivery.

• noun

  The safari guide pointed to a pride resting in the shade.

• noun

  He takes great pride in his tidy workshop.

• verb

  She would pride herself on never missing a deadline.

• noun

  A single male defends the entire pride from rivals.

Where does pride come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Pride comes from the Old English noun prȳde, meaning a high or excessive opinion of one's own worth, which was formed from the adjective prūd, the ancestor of modern 'proud'. The adjective itself was likely borrowed slightly earlier from Old French prud or prod, meaning 'brave', 'valiant', or 'fine', which in turn traces back to a Late Latin form prode, 'useful' or 'advantageous'. In its earliest English life the word carried a strongly negative flavour, naming the sin of arrogance that medieval writers ranked first among the seven deadly sins. Over the centuries the meaning softened so that pride could also describe a wholesome satisfaction in genuine achievement, and from the same root grew the curious sense of 'a pride of lions', a group term recorded from the late Middle Ages. The link to 'proud' is the easiest spelling anchor: both keep the same core, so if you can spell proud you are close to pride.

How the word is built

• pride (from Old English prȳde, the noun built on prūd 'proud')