pride

Old English prȳde meant arrogance, excessive self-esteem. The word traces to the Old French prud, meaning valiant, brave, capable — a quality respected in medieval society. The shift from 'capable warrior' to 'arrogant person' reflects a familiar trajectory: what begins as social admiration becomes self-aggrandizement when internalized too strongly.

In Christian moral theology, superbia — pride — was the first and foundational deadly sin. Gregory the Great in the 6th century placed it at the head of his list of vices; Dante placed the proud in the lowest terrace of Purgatory. The sin was not self-respect but the claim to equality with God — the sin of Satan, who refused to bow.

A group of lions is called a pride, but this sense has no relation to the sin or the emotion. The lion pride's etymology is unclear — it may derive from a now-lost Old French word for a hunting pack, or from a different sense of 'pride' meaning 'company of the best.' Lions were associated with pride-the-sin because of their regal bearing; whether the group name came from that association is uncertain.

Modern psychology has rehabilitated pride. The distinction between hubristic pride (arrogant, self-aggrandizing) and authentic pride (genuine satisfaction in achievement) maps onto the theological split between sinful pride and legitimate self-esteem. The LGBTQ+ Pride movement reclaimed the word specifically from its shaming associations, asserting identity against the social dynamic that had stigmatized it.