uppity
adj/ˈʌpəti/
Etymology From earlier uppedy, equivalent to up + -ed + -y; compare blackity, 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.
1
Presumptuous, above oneself, self-important; arrogant, snobbish, haughty.
- "Hit wuz wunner dese yer uppity little Jack Sparrers, I speck," said the old man; "dey wuz allers bodder'n' longer udder fokes's bizness1881, Joel Chandler Harris, Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings; the Folk-lore of the Old Plantation:
2
Exceeding one's station or position, assuming prerogatives to which one is not entitled.
- And the Yankees are very upset because so many uppity darkies have been killed recently.1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, published June 1944, →OCLC, part IV, page 562:
- The Association was openly committed to "restoring the historical balance of power intended by our Founders" between the nobility and the uppity commoners […]1993, David Weber, On Basilisk Station, Paperback edition (Sci-Fi), →ISBN, page 141:
- Related terms
- know one's place