pride

plural prides · alternative obsolete pryde

1. The quality or state of being proud.
   1. countableuncountableA sense of one's own worth; reasonable self-esteem and satisfaction (in oneself, in one's work, one's family, etc).

      He takes great pride in his work.

      4 more examples

      He swelled with pride as he held the trophy. His family watched with pride from the bleachers.

      He had pride of ownership in his department.

      My chief attention therefore was now to bring down the pride of my family to their circumstances; for I well knew that aspiring beggary is wretchedness itself.

      1766, Oliver Goldsmith, chapter 3, in The Vicar of Wakefield

      A people which takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants.

      1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XII, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC

      Synonyms: dignity, arrogance

   2. countableuncountableAn unreasonable overestimation of one's own superiority in terms of talents, or looks, wealth, importance, etc., which comes across as being haughty, lofty, and often showing contempt of others; exaggerated self-worth.
2. countableuncountableProud or disdainful behavior or treatment that reflects such an attitude (of haughtiness); arrogance.

   Pride goeth before the fall.

   1912, G. K. Chesterton, Introduction to Aesop's Fables

   Synonyms: disdain, hubris

3. countableuncountableSomething or someone of which one is proud; that which is the source of self-congratulation and self-esteem (whether reasonable or arrogant), for example

   Her long ginger hair is her pride.

   4 more examples

   The 18th century table is the pride of Mark's house/

   My children's accomplishments are my pride.

   And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Zechariah 9:6

   a bold peasantry, their country's pride

   1770, [Oliver] Goldsmith, The Deserted Village, a Poem, London: […] W[illiam] Griffin, […], →OCLC

4. countableuncountableShow; ostentation; glory.

   lofty trees yclad with summer's pride

   1590, Edmund Spenser, “(please specify the book)”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC

   1 more example

   Pride, pomp and circumstance of glorious war.

   c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]

5. countableuncountableHighest level or rank; (figurative) elevation reached; loftiness or glory.

   a falcon, towering in her pride of place

   c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]

6. countableuncountableConsciousness of power; fullness of animal spirits; mettle; wantonness.
7. archaiccountableuncountableLust or heat; sexual desire (especially in a female animal)
8. collectivecountableuncountablebiologyA group of lions or other large felines or similar animals.

   A pride of lions often consists of a dominant male, his harem and their offspring, but young adult males 'leave home' to roam about as a bachelors' pride until they are able to seize/establish a family pride of their own.

   5 more examples

   a pride of lions started roaring out in the plains beyond our ring of hills

   1921 December, Captain F. A. M. Webster, “Ridden out: An East African Story”, in The Badminton Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, volume 57, number 317, Longmans, Green, and Company, page 128

   Quite recently near Nzongezi, one of the men out shooting for meat, ran into a "pride" of lions, shot the male first, a mistake, and the lioness was upon him and had him down before he could shoot again.

   1930 May, Stanley C. Bullock, M.I.M.M., “Mineralized Zones in East Africa”, in The Mining Magazine, volume 42=43, Mining Publications, page 276

   While traveling in their station wagon, they saw a pride of lions feasting on a zebra.

   1953 July, Joe Austell Small, “Outdoor Notes”, in Norfolk and Western Magazine, volumes 30-31, Norfolk and Western Railway Company, page 379

   So, at some point in the evolution of the behaviour of lions, one must imagine there were several different prides of lions roaming about, and those prides which happened to turn out the young males were, indeed, the ones that had a better chance of survival.

   1976 July, The Listener, volume 96, British Broadcasting Corporation, page 107

   What appears to be a pride of cheetahs is usually a mother and her full-grown cubs, who will leave her side to look for their own mates after they reach the age of two.

   1976, Time-Life Television, The Cats: Based on the Television Series, Wild, Wild World of Animals, Time-Life Films, page 92

9. countableuncountableAlternative letter-case form of Pride (“festival for LGBT people”).

   For quotations using this term, see Citations:pride.

10. archaiccountableuncountableGenitalia or Buttocks

present singular third person prides · participle present priding · participle past prided · past prided · alternative obsolete pryde

1. reflexiveTo take or experience pride in something; to be proud of it.

   I pride myself on being a good judge of character.

   2 more examples

   Ichabod prided himself upon his dancing as much as upon his vocal powers. Not a limb, not a fibre about him was idle; and to have seen his loosely hung frame in full motion and clattering about the room you would have thought Saint Vitus himself, that blessed patron of the dance, was figuring before you in person.

   1820, Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

   RAIB prides itself on being able to send any of its inspectors to site with sufficient investigative skills and technical knowledge to gather evidence for any type of accident.

   2021 December 29, Paul Stephen, “Rail's accident investigators”, in RAIL, number 947, page 32

   Synonyms: take pride

1. uncountablebiologyThe small European lamprey species Petromyzon branchialis.

   Synonyms: prid, sandpiper, dignity, self-esteem

plural Prides

1. A festival or other event, usually involving a march or parade and organized annually within a city, to celebrate the experiences and identities of LGBTQ people and to promote their interests and rights.First known use late 20th c.

   It's Pride this weekend, Tom, and Brighton will be packed again. Remember that your first duty is ensuring community safety.

   2012, Mark Peterson, chapter 8, in Flesh and Blood, London: Orion Books, →ISBN, page 171

   5 more examples

   The Penn. Council for Sexual Minorities and the Penn. Rural Gay Caucus have rescheduled their gay conference for April 7, 8 and 9. Pride '78 has been expanded following the snowstorm which postponed the conference in January. […] Groups, merchants, craftspeople and individuals interested in attending Pride '78 should call 717-697-3482 or 215-437-2642.

   1978 March 18, “News Notes: Rescheduled Pride ’78”, in Harry Seng, editor, Gay Community News, volume 5, number 35, Boston, Mass.: GCN, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2, column 3

   We are encouraging students to participate in a provincial queer youth talent search. This is a yearlong campaign. The first show is on Oct. 16, and we are organizing a Pride Week Venue for our Finalists!

   1999 September 13, Bonte Minnema, “Letters: SAC [Students Administrative Council]’s stinginess surfaces”, in Andrew Loung, editor, The Varsity: The University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper, volume 120, number 5, Toronto, Ont.: Varsity Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 4, column 5

   And I was goin' out to meet ya, well when I went out to meet you, I felt soooo exposed and such a minority. I never felt like that in Glasgow walkin' in the streets like that, going to Pride … There's much more of a celebration feeling or warmth, a warmth towards it. In Edinburgh I felt much more antagonist energy.

   2001 July 2 (date spoken), Lynda Johnston, quoting Moira, “Bodies: Camped Up Performances”, in Queering Tourism: Paradoxical Performances at Gay Pride Parades (Routledge Studies in Human Geography; 11), London; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, published 2005, →ISBN, page 37

   We've been pretty closeted until now. […] So you can imagine how I felt about going to Pride. But when Andrea said she wanted to go, I gave it [a] shot.

   2005, David Campos, “Terms and Symbols Defined”, in Understanding Gay and Lesbian Youth: Lessons for Straight School Teachers, Counselors, and Administrators, Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Education, →ISBN, part 2 (Rainbow Flags, Stonewall Inn, and GLBT Persons: A Primer about the Gay and Lesbian Community), page 115

   Pride events are no longer confined to major cities […] Nor are Pride events limited to white, affluent LGBs who can afford high ticket prices: there are youth Prides in the UK, many events have retained their political origins and offer free entry, and Black Pride events are held in nine US cities[…].

   2006, Julie Fish, “Conducting Research among LGB Communities”, in Heterosexism in Health and Social Care, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, part I (Understanding Heterosexism in Health and Social Care), page 106

2. A movement encouraging a positive approach to personal identity amongst LGBTQ people.

plural Prides · alternative Pryde

1. A surname.