self-respectingadj.
/ˌsɛlfrᵻˈspɛktɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌsɛlfrəˈspɛktɪŋ/ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > lack of magnanimity or noble-mindedness > self-interest > [adjective]
self-seeking?1575
self-respecting1597
proprietariousa1633
self-ended1643
self-interessed1645
self-interested1648
self-concerned1653
self-concerning1656
self-biased1662
self-ending1698
interested1705
self-interesting1710
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > lack of magnanimity or noble-mindedness > self-interest > [adjective] > selfish
self-respecting1597
selfish1628
selfful1640
selfy1643
sellie1825
kiasu1990
1597 A. B. in T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke sig. A2v What former tymes through selfe respecting good Of deepe-hid Musicke closly kept vnknowne, That in our tongue of all to b'understoode, Fully and plainly hath our Morley showne.
?1605 J. Davies Wittes Pilgrimage sig. Q3v All whose respect is swallowed vp with self-respecting Care, And commonly the Common good neglect.
1657 J. Worthington tr. Thomas à Kempis Christians Pattern iii. xxxvii. 208 Make no self-respecting choice of any thing, appropriate nothing to thy self, and thou shalt ever be a gainer.
1767 T. Underwood Snarlers 10 Their Self-respecting Interest is in View, And if it profit them, they'll pleasure you.
2.
a. Having or showing self-respect; characterized by self-respect.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > proper pride or self-respect > [adjective]
proud1738
self-respecting1786
self-respectful1819
1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 234 The lucky moment to improve, And just to stop, and just to move, With self-respecting art.
1828 W. Sewell Oxf. Prize Ess. 23 For the humiliation of habitual mendicity, it substituted an honourable and self-respecting industry.
1879 Phrenolog. Jrnl. Dec. 295/1 The poor man, who is self-respecting, is clean and neat and careful of his health.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 957/1 The penal system, the object of which is to turn..convicts..into honest, self-respecting men and women.
1954 PMLA 69 966 Americans adopt a more self-respecting attitude about their education and usage than Anglo-Norman writers did.
2006 D. Darke & S. Shields Oman (Bradt Travel Guides) iii. 63 Muscat appears confident and prosperous and, like its people, self-respecting and proud.
b. attributive. That takes pride in being (what is expressed by the noun). Later also in extended, often playful, use: that has the typical or necessary qualities of, that merits being described as (what is expressed by the noun). Often in negative or generic contexts, esp. modified by no or any.
ΚΠ
1851 Morning Chron. 30 July 4/6 No self-respecting legislator would consent to a law in the hope of its remaining a dead letter on the statute-book.
1889 G. P. Williams & W. P. Reeves Colonial Couplets 3 You will never..hear a self-respecting bushman call a bush a leafy glade.
1929 Travel Jan. 13/2 A smiling, cross-eyed, pot-bellied, ebony idol..—a charm every self-respecting guide will smuggle into your tent.
1971 Habitat Catal. 108 No self-respecting toy box..should be without Lego.
1996 Loaded Sept. 60/2 Every self-respecting pop star has exotic pets.
2012 Green Parent Apr. 19/3 We, the parents, sometimes do know better, but there is no way any self-respecting teenager will admit that.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1597