holier-than-thou

the term originates from a biblical quotation, specifically isaiah 65:5 in the king james version of the bible, which reads "stand by thyself, come not near to me; for i am holier than thou." this phrase was used to criticize hypocritical religious observance. by the late 19th century, it had been lexicalized into a hyphenated compound adjective in english, capturing the enduring concept of self-righteous sanctimony. its evolution from a specific scriptural reproach to a general descriptor for moral arrogance demonstrates how potent figurative language becomes embedded in the lexicon. the logic of the term remains transparent, directly comparing one's perceived virtue to another's in a condemnatory manner.

this is a fixed idiomatic phrase adopted as a compound adjective. it is not productively formed from separable modern english morphemes in a way that allows for meaningful segmentation according to the given rules.