vainglory

[veɪnˈɡlɔː.ɹi]

Etymology

From Middle English waynglori (“worthless glory”), from Old French vaine glorie, from Medieval Latin vāna glōria, from Latin vāna (“empty, groundless, boastful”) + glōria (“fame, ambition, boasting”), apparently modelled after similar terms in Germanic languages. Compare Old English īdel wuldor (“vain glory”) and īdelġielp (“vainglory”).

vainglory means excessive vanity. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.

Why this word is great

VAINGLORY — [Noun] Excessive and unwarranted pride in one's own achievements or qualities, invariably accompanied by boastful display. From Middle English waynglori, from Old French vaine glorie, from Medieval Latin vāna glōria, from Latin vāna ("empty, groundless, boastful") + glōria ("fame, glory, boasting"). Unlike pride, which can be a quiet and justified satisfaction, or ostentation, which is a showy display that may be purely external, vainglory is the marriage of an inner emptiness to a public spectacle. It is the gilded statue that rings hollow when struck, the politician’s speech that swells with pronouns yet says nothing, the peacock’s fan of a hundred eyes that sees only its own reflection—a fame that feeds on its own echo is the surest path to a silent solitude.

noun

Excessive vanity.
Boastful, unwarranted pride in one's accomplishments or qualities.“Then he reasoned, as he had in the days past, that the course of human history had shown national pride—the inflexible kind—to be mankind’s worst enemy, and ordinary people paid the price in suffering. Nations had gone down because of vainglory, when moderation might have civilized and saved them.”
Vain, ostentatious display.“The pew would soon want new flooring, Mr. Dangerfield thought, and the Castlemallard arms and supporters, a rather dingy piece of vainglory, overhanging the main seat on the wall, would be nothing the worse of a little fresh gilding and paint.”
A regarding of oneself with undue favor.

verb

To boast; to act in a vain manner.