• hautie,hauty(obsolete)

From earlierhauty,haultic, with spelling change in imitation ofEnglishnaughty andEnglishhigh, fromMiddle Englishhautein,hautain (with-ein,-ain becoming-y through the formhautenesse standing for*hauteinnesse; seehaughtiness), fromMiddle Englishhaute(“self-important”), fromOld Frenchhaut,hault(“high, lofty”), fromFrankish*hauh,*hōh(“high, lofty, proud”) andLatinaltus(“high, deep”).

• (Received Pronunciation)IPA^(key):/ˈhɔːti/

• Audio(Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American)IPA^(key):/ˈhɔti/
• (cot–caught merger)IPA^(key):/ˈhɑti/
• Rhymes:-ɔːti
• Homophone:hottie(cot–caught merger)

haughty (comparativehaughtier,superlativehaughtiest)

1. Conveying indemeanour the assumption ofsuperiority;disdainful,supercilious.

   Synonyms:seeThesaurus:arrogant

   • 1922,Michael Arlen, “3/1/1”, in“Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days‎^[1]:

     How meek and shrunken did thathaughty Tarmac become as it slunk by the wide circle of asphalt of the yellow sort, that was loosely strewn before the great iron gates of Lady Hall as a forerunner of the consideration that awaited the guests of Rupert, Earl of Kare,[…].

• haught,haut
• old

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “haughty”, inOnline Etymology Dictionary.