philautia means self-love, self-conceit. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
philautia is pronounced /fɪˈlɔː.ti.ə/.
Why “philautia” is a great word
PHILAUTIA — [Noun] Self-love, conceptualized in classical thought as either a virtuous self-regard or an excessive preoccupation with oneself. From the Greek φιλαυτία (philautía), a compound of φίλος (philos, "loving") + αὐτός (autos, "self"). Unlike *philia*, which denotes affectionate love directed outwardly between equals, or *narcissism*, which implies a pathological vanity, philautia is the foundational and ambivalent soil from which all other loves may grow or wither. It is the quiet dignity of refusing a demeaning task, the insulating vanity that builds a palace wall against criticism, and the private candle-flame of regard that must be kept lit to see anything else at all—the entire moral life is a negotiation with this single, inescapable room.
noun
- Self-love, self-conceit“Zwingli distinguished the origin of human sin with its Greek name, philautia. Philautia promotes the self over all others, both brother and father, neighbor and God. It is the wish for "things to be better for us than for others."”