Vanity
In conventional parlance, vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others (Stephen LaMarche). Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant futility. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic synonym for vanity, but originally meant boasting in vain, i.e. unjustified boasting; although glory is now seen as having an exclusively positive meaning, the Latin term gloria (from which it derives) roughly means boasting, and was often used as a negative criticism.
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Famous quotes containing the word vanity:
“It is well for our vanity that we slay the criminal, for if we suffered him to live he might show us what we had gained by his crime.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.”
—Jane Austen (1775–1817)
“Because one has little fear of shocking vanity in Italy, people adopt an intimate tone very quickly and discuss personal things.”
—Stendhal [Marie Henri Beyle] (1783–1842)