You’ve probably seen the word everywhere. It’s on billboards in June, it’s in the "Seven Deadly Sins," and it’s what your dad felt when you finally learned to change a tire. But honestly, what does the word pride mean in a way that actually makes sense? Most people think it’s just one thing. It isn't. It’s a linguistic shapeshifter that can represent the very best and the absolute worst of the human experience.
Language is messy.
Pride is a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements. That’s the dictionary version. But ask a monk in the 13th century and he’d tell you it’s the root of all evil—superbia, the sin that cast Lucifer from heaven. Ask a young person at a parade in New York City, and they’ll tell you it’s about the right to exist without fear. Both are right. Context changes everything.
The Dual Nature of the Word
Psychologists often split pride into two distinct buckets: "authentic pride" and "hubristic pride." It’s a helpful way to look at it. Authentic pride is that warm glow you get after working hard on a project. It’s tied to effort. It’s prosocial. It makes you want to help others because you feel good about your place in the world.
Then there’s the dark side.
Hubristic pride is about dominance. It’s that "I’m better than you" energy that ruins dinner parties and starts wars. Researchers like Jessica Tracy, a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, have spent years studying this. Her work suggests that while authentic pride is linked to self-esteem and extroversion, hubristic pride is more closely tied to narcissism and aggression.
It’s the difference between saying "I did a good thing" and "I am a great person." That distinction is huge. One builds you up; the other tears everyone else down.
A Quick Trip Through History
The etymology is kinda fascinating. The word comes from the Old English pryde, which itself stems from the Old French prud. Back then, it was actually a compliment. It meant "brave" or "valiant."
But then the Church got a hold of it.
In the Catholic tradition, pride is the "queen of sins." St. Thomas Aquinas argued that pride is the beginning of all sin because it involves a turning away from God to focus entirely on the self. It’s the ultimate ego trip. For centuries, Western culture viewed pride as a dangerous internal rot. It was the "vainglory" that led to a fall. You’ve heard the phrase "Pride goeth before a fall," right? It’s actually a misquote of Proverbs 16:18, which says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
Why the LGBTQ+ Meaning Changed the Game
You can't talk about what does the word pride mean without looking at the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. Before this, "pride" wasn't a word the queer community used to describe themselves. They used words like "homophile" or just stayed in the shadows.
Everything shifted because of activists like Brenda Howard, often called the "Mother of Pride."
She helped organize the first Christopher Street Liberation Day March a year after Stonewall. The choice of the word "Pride" was a direct, aggressive counter to "shame." For decades, society told LGBTQ+ people they should be ashamed of who they were. Reclaiming "Pride" was a political act. It wasn't about being "better" than anyone else—the hubristic kind of pride—it was about asserting a right to exist.
Today, "Pride" (often capitalized) refers to a global movement for civil rights. It has evolved from a riot to a protest to, in many places, a corporate-sponsored celebration. Some people hate that shift. They feel the radical roots are getting lost in a sea of rainbow-colored logos. Others see it as a sign of progress.
The Cultural Divide: East vs. West
It is worth noting that pride doesn't look the same everywhere.
In many Western, individualistic cultures, we celebrate "taking pride" in our work. We tell kids to be proud of their grades. It’s a self-focused emotion. However, in many East Asian cultures influenced by Confucianism, pride is often seen through a collective lens. You don't feel pride for yourself; you feel it for your family or your community.
There’s a concept in Japanese culture called amae, which is about a sense of belonging and dependence. High levels of individual pride can actually be seen as a threat to social harmony. If you’re too "proud," you’re sticking your neck out, and as the Japanese proverb goes, "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down."
Is Pride Actually Good for You?
So, is it a virtue or a vice? Honestly, it’s both.
Socially, pride is a "status-regulating" emotion. It tells us where we stand in the hierarchy. If you never felt pride, you’d have no motivation to achieve anything. You’d just sit on the couch. Evolutionarily speaking, pride helped our ancestors gain prestige within their tribes. Higher prestige meant better access to resources and mates.
But it’s a fine line.
When pride becomes your entire identity, you stop growing. You become "brittle." You can’t take criticism because it feels like an attack on your soul. This is what the Greeks called hubris. In their plays, hubris always led to a messy, tragic end.
Ways to Tell if Your Pride is Healthy
- You can admit when you're wrong. Healthy pride isn't threatened by mistakes.
- You don't need to put others down. Your success stands on its own.
- It’s based on reality. You’re proud of things you actually did, not things you imagine you are.
- You feel "we" instead of "I." You acknowledge the mentors and friends who helped you get there.
The Semantic Shift in Modern Language
Nowadays, we use the word so casually that it’s almost lost its bite. We "take pride" in our gardens. We have "national pride." We have "school pride."
But the core remains: Pride is about valuation.
It is the act of assigning a high value to something you are connected to. When you ask what does the word pride mean, you are really asking about how we value ourselves and our groups. It can be the fuel that drives a scientist to spend twenty years curing a disease, or it can be the wall that prevents two people from apologizing after a stupid argument.
Putting It All Into Practice
Understanding pride isn't just a vocabulary exercise. It’s a way to audit your own life. Next time you feel that swell in your chest, ask yourself where it's coming from.
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If you want to use the "good" kind of pride to improve your life, focus on competence. Build skills. Achieve things that are actually difficult. That creates a stable sense of self that doesn't need to scream for attention.
If you find yourself feeling the "bad" kind—the kind where you’re constantly comparing yourself to the person in the next cubicle or the person on Instagram—try to pivot toward gratitude. It’s the natural antidote to hubris. It’s hard to be arrogantly proud when you’re busy being thankful for the help you’ve received along the way.
Actionable Steps for Navigating Pride:
- Audit your "Wins": Write down three things you are proud of. If they are all about "being better than X," try to find three more that are about personal growth or helping others.
- Practice Intellectual Humility: Seek out one person this week who disagrees with you and truly listen to their perspective without trying to "win" the conversation.
- Check Your Shame: If you feel a lack of pride, identify where society or your past has imposed shame on you. Actively work to replace that shame with "authentic pride" in your resilience.
- Volunteer or Mentor: Shifting your focus from your own status to the success of someone else is the fastest way to turn hubristic tendencies into healthy, prosocial pride.
Pride is a tool. It can be a compass that leads you toward your best self, or it can be a cage that keeps you trapped in your own ego. The meaning of the word isn't found in a dictionary—it’s found in how you choose to carry yourself every day.