10 Old Words for Arrogant People

The word arrogant typically describes people who behave in a way that shows excessive self-absorption and little regard for anyone else, and generally, arrogance is not a trait people enjoy encountering in others.

That doesn’t mean it is uncommon, though, or that it’s anything new. While modern English has plenty of words and phrases that are similar to arrogant, including conceited, boastful, and full of oneself, older variants of the English language also have many ways to describe someone who is just a little too highfalutin’.

1. Buggish
2. Orgulous
3. Haute/Haught/Haut
4. Thrasonical
5. Snouty
6. Overmoody 
7. Hity-Tity
8. Superbious
9. Contumelious
10. Unlicked Cub

Buggish

Today, this word typically means something is literally bug-infested or bug-like. However, according to Oxford English Dictionary, in the 1500s it was used to mean something like pompous or haughty—all words that are quite related to arrogant.

Orgulous

This word was first adopted from the 13th century Anglo-French word orguillus, per Merriam-Webster. Shakespeare uses it in the opening line of his play Troilus and Cressida, which goes, “In Troy, there lies the scene. From Isles of Greece / The princes orgulous, their high blood chaf'd, / Have to the port of Athens sent their ships.” The word fell out of use for over two centuries until several 20th century writers including James Joyce revived it, but it generally remains a very archaic term that means proud.

Haute/Haught/Haut

The word haughty is still a very common term, but before there was haughty there was haute, haught, or haut—Middle English words that meant “noble, high-minded, or lofty,” per Merriam-Webster. This word originated in Middle English and originally stemmed from Middle French’s haut. That term eventually became part of haute couture, a term that is very much still in use in the high-fashion realm.

Thrasonical

The word thrasonical technically means “of, relating to, resembling, or characteristic of Thraso”—Thraso being a character in the writer Terence's 2nd century B.C.E. Roman comedy Eunuchus. In the play, Thraso is extremely prideful and arrogant, so much so that his character inspired an entire word meaning bragging and boastful that has stuck around in the English language for over 400 years. 

Snouty

You might be familiar with the word snooty, which is a fairly common term to describe someone vain, pretentious, or sometimes, arrogant. This word may be connected to the slightly older variant snouty, which means insolent and overbearing and dates to the mid-1800s, according to Etymonline. This word, in turn, might relate to the expression “looking down one’s nose” at someone. Over the years, snouty transformed to snooty, which started as a slang term and was first documented around 1919.

Overmoody 

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word overmoody is yet another word that means proud or haughty, and it dates to 13th-century Middle English. The word can also mean “excessively moody,” according to some dictionaries, but is generally out of use nowadays.

Hity-Tity

You might be familiar with the phrase hoity-toity, which can either mean frivolous or overly self-important. But this word also has a few now-obsolete variants, including hity-tity and highty-tighty—the latter of which appeared in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary in 1913, but which is now entirely out of use.

Superbious

Superbious is derived from the Medieval Latin term superbiosus, which means proud or insolent. The word superbious itself was first documented in the 1500s and should not be confused with the similar but entirely unrelated term superfluous. Unlike some of the other words on this list, this one is still occasionally used in English today.

Contumelious

The word contumelious is a rather harsh adjective that has a slightly harsher meaning than arrogant. According to Merriam-Webster, it technically means “insolently abusive and humiliating,” and was first used in the 15th century. With its rather intense connotations, this term should probably be reserved for someone who really and truly bothers you.

Unlicked Cub

This is a highly specific idiom reserved for just one segment of the population: unruly young people. According to Francis Grose's1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, this term specifically means “a rude, uncouth young fellow,” but the World English Historical Dictionary says it can also refer both to “an awkward, sulky girl” or an “uncouth lout of a boy.”