Philauty
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Selfishness, self-esteem, vanity. obsolete, uncountable
"At's left ſtood ſpruce and gaudy Philauty, / Whoſe thoughts dwelt on a cryſtal book ſhe held / Eternally to her admiring Eye; / In which her fooliſh ſelf ſhe read, and ſmil'd / On her fair Leſſon; though the brittle Glaſs / Admoniſh'd her how vain her Beauty was."
Example
More examples"At's left ſtood ſpruce and gaudy Philauty, / Whoſe thoughts dwelt on a cryſtal book ſhe held / Eternally to her admiring Eye; / In which her fooliſh ſelf ſhe read, and ſmil'd / On her fair Leſſon; though the brittle Glaſs / Admoniſh'd her how vain her Beauty was."
Etymology
Based on Ancient Greek φιλαυτία (philautía, “self-love, self-regard”), from φιλέω (philéō, “I love”) and αὐτός (autós, “self”).
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.