Proud
adjectiveFeeling deep satisfaction in one's own achievements or in those of someone connected to you, or sometimes having an excessively high opinion of oneself.
How to spell proud
5 letters · 1 syllable
How to pronounce proud
What does proud mean?
- adjectiveFeeling deep satisfaction in one's own achievements or in those of someone connected to you, or sometimes having an excessively high opinion of oneself.
Proud in a sentence
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Her parents were proud of the degree she earned after years of evening study.
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He felt proud when the team he had coached won the regional final.
Where does proud come from?
Language of origin: French
Proud is one of the earliest French borrowings in English, slipping into late Old English as prūd or prūt before the Norman Conquest. It came from Old French prud or prod, meaning 'valiant, brave, or worthy', which in turn traces back to the Late Latin phrase prode esse, 'to be of use or advantage', built on the Latin prodesse 'to be useful'. The original sense leaned toward gallantry and worth, but in English it soon picked up the double edge it still carries: both the warm pride of achievement and the cold pride of arrogance. The related noun 'pride' developed inside English from the same root, which is why the two words look and feel like a natural pair. The simple spelling rarely trips adults, since the long 'ow' sound is written plainly as -ou- and the word stays short and regular.
How the word is built
- proud (single root, from Old English prūd; no separable affixes)
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