pompous

Etymology

From Middle English pompous, from Old French pompeux, from Late Latin pomposus, from Latin pompa (“pomp”), from Ancient Greek πομπή (pompḗ, “a sending, a solemn procession, pomp”), from πέμπω (pémpō, “I send”). Doublet of pomposo.

adj

  1. Affectedly grand, solemn or self-important.
    But man is a Noble Animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave, solemnizing Nativities and Deaths with equal lustre, nor omitting Ceremonies of bravery, in the infamy of his nature. 1658, Sir Thomas Browne, Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial
    Not that the parting speech caused Amelia to philosophise, or that it armed her in any way with a calmness, the result of argument; but it was intolerably dull, pompous, and tedious; and having the fear of her schoolmistress greatly before her eyes, Miss Samuel did not venture, in her presence, to give way to any ebullitions of private grief. , Bantam Classics (1997), 16

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