Advertisement

Origin and history of vaunt

vaunt(v.)

early 15c., vaunten, "speak vainly or proudly, make vain display of one's own worth or attainments," from Anglo-French vaunter, Old French vanter "to praise, speak highly of," from Medieval Latin vanitare "to boast," frequentative of Latin vanare "to utter empty words," from vanus "empty, void," figuratively "idle, fruitless" (from suffixed form of PIE root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out"). Also short for avaunten "to boast" (see vaunt (n.)). Related: Vaunted; vaunter; vaunting.

vaunt(n.)

"boasting, boasting utterance, a brag," c. 1400, short for avaunt "a boast" (late 14c.), from avaunten "to boast" (c. 1300), from Old French avanter "boast about, boast of, glory in."

also from c. 1400

Entries linking to vaunt

*eue-

*euə-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to leave, abandon, give out," with derivatives meaning "abandoned, lacking, empty."

It might form all or part of: avoid; devastation; devoid; evacuate; evanescent; vacant; vacate; vacation; vacuity; vacuole; vacuous; vacuum; vain; vanish; vanity; vaunt; void; wane; want; wanton; waste.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit una- "deficient;" Avestan va- "lack," Persian vang "empty, poor;" Armenian unain "empty;" Latin vacare "to be empty," vastus "empty, waste," vanus "empty, void," figuratively "idle, fruitless;" Old English wanian "to lessen," wan "deficient;" Old Norse vanta "to lack."

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    boast
    mid-13c., "arrogance, presumption, pride, vanity;" c. 1300, "a brag, boastful speech," from Anglo-French bost "ostentation," probably from a Scandinavian source (compare Norwegian baus "proud, bold, daring"), from Proto-Germanic *bausia "to blow up, puff up, swell" (source also o
    tout
    1700, thieves' cant, "to act as a lookout, spy on," from Middle English tuten "to peep, peer," probably from a variant of Old English totian "to stick out, peep, peer," from Proto-Germanic *tut- "project" (source also of Dutch tuit "sprout, snout," Middle Dutch tute "nipple, pap,
    swash
    1530s, expressing a blow or the fall of a heavy body, probably imitative. It also meant "pig-wash, filth, wet refuse" (1520s) and may have been imitative of the sound of water dashing against solid objects or a heavy blow on a yielding surface. The meaning "a body of splashing wa
    glorify
    mid-14c., "praise, honor, extol" (God or a person), also "vaunt, be proud of, boast of; glorify oneself, be proud, boast;...In Chaucer also "to vaunt, boast," But this sense has faded in English. Related: Glorified; glorifying....
    flaunt
    Perhaps a variant of flout or vaunt....
    amplify
    early 15c., "to enlarge, expand, increase," from Old French amplifier (15c.), from Latin amplificare "to enlarge," from amplus "large" (see ample) + combining form of facere "to make, do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put"). The meaning "augment in volume or amount" is from 1570s
    exaggerate
    1530s, "to pile up, accumulate," from Latin exaggeratus, past participle of exaggerare "heighten, amplify, magnify," literally "to heap, pile, load, fill," from ex, here probably "thoroughly" (see ex-), + aggerare "heap up, accumulate," figuratively "amplify, magnify," from agger
    crow
    general common name of birds of the genus Corvus (the larger sort being sometimes called ravens), Old English crawe, which is held to be imitative of the bird's cry. Compare Old Saxon kraia, Dutch kraai, Old High German chraja, German Kräke. Also other imitative bird-names such a
    triumph
    late 14c., "success in battle, conquest," also "spiritual victory" and "a procession celebrating victory in war," from Old French triumphe (12c., Modern French triomphe), from Latin triumphus "an achievement, a success; celebratory procession for a victorious general or admiral,"
    garb
    "fashion of dress," 1620s, from earlier sense "person's outward demeanor" (c. 1600), originally "elegance, stylishness" (1590s), from French garbe "graceful outline, gracefulness, comeliness" (Modern French galbe) or directly from Italian garbo "grace, elegance, pleasing manners,

    Share vaunt

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near vaunt
    Advertisement