swagger

Definition

To behave (especially to walk or carry oneself) in a pompous, superior manner.

Etymology

A frequentative form of swag (“to sway”), first attested in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595), see quotations.

Example Sentences

• "What hempen home-ſpuns haue we ſwaggering here, / So neere the Cradle of the Faierie Queene?"
• "He is a political humbug, the greatest of all humbugs; a man who swaggers about London clubs and consults solemnly about his influence, and in the country is a nonentity."
• "To be great is not […] to swagger at our footmen."