Boastfulness
/ˈboʊst.fəl.nəs/noun
The quality of talking about yourself or your achievements in a proud, exaggerated way.
Did you know?*Boast* entered English through Old Norse and Middle English, and its earliest sense was not simple confidence but noisy, swaggering talk—language as performance.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*baustōną
“to boast, brag, or make loud claims”
Old Norse
ON
básta
“to boast or swagger”
Middle English
ME
bosten
“to boast, brag loudly”
Late Middle English
ME
boastful
“full of boasting; swaggering”
Modern English
English
boastfulness
“the quality of being boastful”