uppity

English

Etymology

Fanciful extension of up +‎ -ity/-ety, an extended form of -y; compare biggity and hippity (and possibly also persnickety, pernickety). First attested around 1880 in Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris to describe Jack Sparrer (Jack Sparrow), who tattled on Br'er Rabbit (see quotations below). Compare uppish.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʌpəti/

Adjective

uppity (comparative uppitier, superlative uppitiest)

1. Presumptuous, above oneself, self-important; arrogant, snobbish, haughty.
   • 1881, Joel Chandler Harris, Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings; the Folk-lore of the Old Plantation‎^[1]:

     "Hit wuz wunner dese yer uppity little Jack Sparrers, I speck," said the old man; "dey wuz allers bodder'n' longer udder fokes's bizness

2. Exceeding one's station or position, assuming prerogatives to which one is not entitled.
   • 1993, David Weber, On Basilisk Station, Paperback edition (Sci-Fi), →ISBN, page 141:

     The Association was openly committed to "restoring the historical balance of power intended by our Founders" between the nobility and the uppity commoners […]

Usage notes

• This term has historically been used in America to describe black people who were considered to be acting above "their place", and is considered by some to have racist connotations when applied to black people and other minorities; sometimes, arrogant or presumptuous, invoking the same idea, are used as codewords for it. It has also been used with these connotations in the UK.

Synonyms

• (presumptuous, arrogant): see Thesaurus:arrogant

Translations

presumptuous, above oneself

• Danish: snobbet, fisefornem, arrogant, hovmodig, hoven, indbildsk, opblæst, vigtig (da)
• Dutch: arrogant (nl), hooghartig (nl)
• Finnish: ylimielinen (fi), koppava
• French: arrogant (fr), impertinent (fr)
• German: dreist (de), hochnäsig (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: oppesen, hovferdig (dated), nesevis, bråkjekk (no), eplekjekk, arrogant (no)

• Portuguese: metido (pt)
• Russian: самонаде́янный (ru) (samonadéjannyj), высокоме́рный (ru) (vysokomérnyj)
• Swedish: fisförnäm (sv), mallig (sv), snorkig (sv), dryg (sv), näsvis (sv), högfärdig (sv), snobbig (sv), arrogant (sv), högmodig (sv), uppnosig (sv)

exceeding one's station, refusing to submit

• Danish: opsætsig, næsvis, flabet, trodsig, fræk
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}