brag·ga·do·cio \ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷shēˌō also -(ˌ)shō or -_sēˌō sometimes -_chēˌō or -(ˌ)chō or -_shə\noun (-s) Etymology: after Braggadocchio, personification of boasting in Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser died 1599 English poet 1.: braggart, boaster 2. a.: empty boasting : bragging < the braggadocio of dictators > b.: arrogant pretension : cockiness < the air of swaggering braggadocio that all important men are expected to show in fighting — C.W.M.Hart >