What does arrogancy mean?
Arrogancy means overbearing pride or haughty self-importance — the quality of considering oneself superior to others in a way that gives offence. It is a noun denoting an attitude rather than a single act: the person marked by arrogancy habitually dismisses others' opinions, demands deference, and behaves as though their own judgment cannot be questioned. Historically, arrogancy was a fully accepted English word, appearing in religious, political, and literary writing from around the sixteenth century onward as an alternative to its Latin-derived cousin arrogance. Over time, however, arrogance became overwhelmingly the preferred form, and arrogancy survives today only in older texts or deliberately archaic style. Its connotations are strongly negative, implying not just confidence but contemptuous disregard for others. Readers meeting the word now will usually find it in historical documents, older translations of scripture or classical works, or writing intended to evoke a past era's diction.
nounThe quality or state of being arrogant; offensive overbearing pride and self-importance. A now largely archaic synonym of 'arrogance'.
- Overbearing pride or haughty self-importance; the state of being arrogant (the sole sense, now chiefly of historical interest)
"He spoke to the committee with such arrogancy that several members walked out before he finished."
"His arrogancy alienated even his most loyal supporters."
"The chronicle condemned the king's arrogancy in refusing counsel from his advisors."
Rarely used in the plural; like other abstract quality nouns it normally appears in the singular, though plural instances occur in older texts when referring to multiple instances or manifestations of arrogant conduct.
"The pamphlet catalogued the minister's many arrogancies toward parliament."
Before 'arrogance' won the popularity contest, English speakers said 'arrogancy' — a form Shakespeare's contemporaries knew that has all but vanished from the language.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of arrogancy
Arrogancy derives from the Latin verb arrogare, meaning 'to claim for oneself', formed from ad- ('toward') plus rogare ('to ask'). The word entered English during the early modern period alongside the closely related forms arrogance and arrogant, all tracing back through Latin arrogantia. It remained in respectable use for several centuries but gradually gave way to arrogance, which had become the dominant form by the eighteenth century.
How arrogancy is actually used
'Arrogancy' is a rare, dated variant of 'arrogance', found mainly in older texts from the 16th–18th centuries. Modern writers should use 'arrogance'; encountering 'arrogancy' today usually signals either historical prose or a stylistic archaism.
Easily confused with arrogancy
'Arrogance' is the standard modern word for overbearing pride; 'arrogancy' is an older, largely obsolete variant with the identical meaning.