Vaunters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who proudly talk about their achievements or qualities in an exaggerated way
2. Persons who express excessive pride in their own abilities or possessions through speech
3. Those who speak with self-importance to show off or highlight their accomplishments

Etymology: "Vaunters" is the plural of "vaunter," a noun for someone who boasts. The word is built from "vaunt," which came into English from Old French "vanter," meaning to boast, and the English suffix "-er," which marks a person who does something. The Old French root traces back to Latin "vanitas," meaning emptiness or vanity, so the boaster is, at heart, someone who puffs up hollow claims. The noun "vaunter" may be a calque, a word-for-word translation, of the Old French "vanteor," which had the same sense of one who brags. In other words, English speakers may have copied the French formation piece by piece rather than borrowing the finished noun. Since "vaunt" itself is a borrowing, the plural "vaunters" simply adds the usual English "-s" to this older French-derived pattern.

Synonyms: boasters, braggarts, show-offs

Antonyms: humble, modest