braggadocio meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

braggadocio

noun

UK /ˌbɹæ.ɡəˈdəʊ.t͡ʃəʊ/ · US /ˌbɹæɡ.əˈdoʊ.ʃiˌoʊ/

Etymology After Braggadocchio, a boastful character in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (1590), apparently a pseudo-Italian coinage.

A braggart.

[…] the Gasconads of France, Rodomontads of Spain, Fanfaronads of Italy, and Bragadochio brags of all other countries, could no more astonish his invincible heart, then would the cheeping of a mouse a bear robbed of her whelps.1652, Thomas Urquhart, “Εκσκυβαλαυρον (The Jewel)”, in The Works of Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty, Knight, Edinburgh: Thomas Maitland Dundrennan, published 1834, →ISBN, page 217:
Having received an Inſult from Otho H. W. Luckett, for which he refuſed to make the Reparation demanded―I do declare him a Coward, a Bragadochio, and a Fellow, at whom the ☞ Finger of Contempt ſhould always be pointed.1803 September 27, William Chapman, “To The Public”, in The Hornet (Frederick, Maryland):

1 more example

Shut thy trap, Braggadose. To whom art thou speaking?1895, R. D. Blackmore, Slain By The Doones, Dodd, Mead and Company, page 19:

Empty boasting.

He could not endure his airs as a man of fashion, and laughed heartily at his pompous braggadocio stories.1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 6, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
He’s also come to be known for his braggadocio about his net worth during his 2016 run.2015 August 27, Michael Signer, “What Happens When Donald Trump Stirs Up 'Passionate' Supporters”, in The Atlantic:

2 more examples

Russia’s use of social media in America’s 2016 presidential race reflected particularly poorly on Facebook, which was seen as doing too little to stamp out deceptive ads and fake news stories. As for nuclear braggadocio on Twitter, let’s not even go there.2018 January 20, Eve Smith, “The techlash against Amazon, Facebook and Google—and what they can do”, in The Economist:
Prime Minister Johnson adopted an unfamiliar tone of seriousness. Gone was the braggadocio of superheroes and handshakes.2023, Adam Tooze, Shutdown How COVID Shook The World's Economy, Penguin Books, page 81: