superbadj.

Etymology: < (i) Middle French, French superbe proud, haughty, arrogant (c1200 in Old French; already in first half of the 12th cent. in Anglo-Norman as noun in sense ‘proud person’), magnificent (1559), splendid, excellent (1617), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin superbus proud, superior, distinguished, magnificent < super- super- prefix + the Indo-European base of classical Latin fuisse to have been (see be v.; the same ending is seen in classical Latin probus : see probity n.). Compare Catalan superb (1575), Spanish superbo (late 14th cent.; now rare, the usual Spanish word being soberbio: see below), Portuguese soberbo (15th cent.; 13th cent. as †soberbio), Italian superbo (second half of the 13th cent.).Spanish soberbio (beginning of the 14th cent.; a1252 as †superbio ) is an alteration of superbo (although this is first attested later) after soberbia pride, arrogance (first half of the 13th cent.; < classical Latin superbia : see superbious adj.). With sense 1c and Compounds, compare scientific Latin superbus, specific name (1764 or earlier in botany, 1773 or earlier in zoology).