Supercillious|Supercillious Definition-Use this adjective as an adverb so long as we add the regular adverbial suffix, -ly (superciliously). The noun for this word is also the standard superciliousness; however, if you prefer to
be a bit supercilious yourself, you may use superciliosity. That should stand some hair on end.
Pronunciation: su-pêr-si-li-ês
Part of Speech: Adjective
(1)Meaning: Haughty, disdainful, snootily snobbish, totally enveloped in hauteur.
(2)Disdainful or contemptuous; full of or characterized by pride or scorn; haughty
(3)Feeling or showing haughty disdain
(4)Haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
Related forms:
su⋅per⋅cil⋅i⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
su⋅per⋅cil⋅i⋅ous⋅ness, noun
Word History: Long ago it was noted that snooty people tend to raise their eyebrows a lot as part of the expression of condescension. It is this facial expression that led to the creation of today’s Good Word. It was borrowed from Latin superciliosus “haughty, disdainful”, a word borne of supercilium “eyebrow, pride”. Supercilium, in its turn, is made up of super “over, above” + cilium “eyelid”, the “over-eyelid”. Cilium (plural cilia) comes from the verb celare “to cover, hide” and shares its origin with Greek kaluptô “to cover”. The [k] in the original root became [h], as expected, in the Germanic languages and the [l] metathesized (switched places) with the vowel, resulting in an Old Germanic word hlid “eyelid”. With the disappearance of the initial H, English and German were left with lid, which means only “eyelid” in German but that plus a pot or jar covering in English. (We are so happy that Kathleen McCune of Norway is not so supercilious as to ignore us when she happens across lovely Good Words like today’s.)
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