Mind & EmotionGreek → English
Hubris
/ˈhjuːbrɪs/noun
Overbearing pride that invites a fall.
The Greek roots
ὕβρις
hýbris
outrage, insolence
Literally: “wanton violence”
Follow a root:ὕβρις1 word
The story of the word
In Athens hubris was not a mood but a crime. It meant an assault designed to humiliate the victim rather than merely injure him, and any citizen could bring a graphē hybreōs against the offender. The modern sense of arrogance courting divine punishment comes from reading Greek tragedy in the nineteenth century, not from the courts.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → English
- First recorded
- 19th century
Same family
hubristic
In a sentence
The report blamed the collapse on hubris in the boardroom.
There is a fine line between confidence and hubris.