snooty
Meaning
behaving in an unfriendly way because you think you are better than other people
Usage
she was dismissed as a snooty intellectual who looked down on popular culture.
the waiter gave us a snooty look when we asked for the check too quickly.
don't be so snooty about their taste in music; everyone has different preferences.
Etymology
the word "snooty" emerged in the early 20th century as an informal adjective. it originates from the slang word "snoot," itself an alteration of "snout," a middle english term for an animal's nose, derived from middle dutch or middle low german "snūte." the semantic progression is clear: "snout" (nose) became "snoot," a contemptuous term for a person, implying they are nose-in-the-air. adding the suffix "-y" created the adjective describing the haughty, disdainful attitude of such a person, perfectly capturing the metaphor of looking down one's nose at others.
Analysis
this is a simplex word. it is derived from the slang term "snoot," a variant of "snout," used to mean "nose" and, by extension, to refer to a person in a contemptuous way (as in "looking down one's nose").