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proud (proud)
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adj. proud·er, proud·est
1. Feeling pleasurable satisfaction over an act, possession, quality, or relationship by which one measures one's stature or self-worth: proud of one's child; proud to serve one's country.
2. Occasioning or being a reason for pride: a proud moment when she received her diploma.
3. Feeling or showing justifiable self-respect: too proud to beg.
4. Filled with or showing excessive self-esteem: a proud and haughty aristocrat.
5. Of great dignity; honored: a proud name.
6. Majestic; magnificent: proud alpine peaks.
7. Spirited. Used of an animal: proud steeds.
[Middle English, from Old English prūd, from Old French prou, prud, brave, virtuous, oblique case of prouz, from Vulgar Latin *prōdis, from Late Latin prōde, advantageous, from Latin prōdesse, to be good : prōd-, for (variant of prō-, with d on the model of red-, prevocalic variant of re-, back, again; see PRO-1) + esse, to be; see es- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
proudly adv.
proudness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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