Elacioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Arrogant pride or haughty self-regard ; the act of raising something up or lifting it to a higher position
2. An overbearing sense of one's own importance ; a physical raising or elevation of an object to a higher place
3. Haughty conceit and self-importance ; the process of lifting or exalting something above its former level

Etymology: Before it meant the joy we now associate with it, this word described a kind of lift in spirit that could curdle into pride. It comes from Latin "elatio," a noun built from "elatus," the past participle of "efferre," meaning "to carry out or bring up." That verb combines "ex-" (out) with "ferre" (to carry), so the image is literally of something being borne upward. In Latin, "elatus" could describe something raised high, and figuratively a person lifted up with self-importance. The noun carried the same double sense, so an "elatio" could be haughtiness as readily as high spirits. The spelling "elacioun" is a Middle English form, showing the French-influenced route by which the Latin noun reached English. The modern "elation" is the same word in a more regularised spelling, and its sense of exhilaration came to the fore later, leaving the older meaning of arrogance behind.