gloat
[gloht]
- to look at or think about with great or excessive, often smug or malicious, satisfaction: The opposing team gloated over our bad luck.
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- an act or feeling of gloating.
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Origin of gloat
1565–75; perhaps akin to Old Norse glotta to smile scornfully; compare German glotzen to stare
Synonyms
1. See glare1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for gloater
Historical Examples
Nero was not a great success as an Emperor, but as a gloater he has no rival in history.
RemarksBill Nye
Captain Quinnox glided into the room behind the Prince and gently closed the door, unnoticed by the gloater.
GraustarkGeorge Barr McCutcheon
I sit there and gloat until by rights I ought to be required to take out a gloater's license.
Cobb's AnatomyIrvin S. Cobb
gloat
- (intr often foll by over) to dwell (on) with malevolent smugness or exultation
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- the act of gloating
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Word Origin
C16: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse glotta to grin, Middle High German glotzen to stare
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for gloater
gloat
v.
1570s, "to look at furtively," from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse glotta "to grin, smile scornfully, show the teeth," Swedish dialectal glotta "to peep;" or from Middle High German glotzen "to stare, gape." Sense of "to look at with malicious satisfaction" first recorded 1748. Related: Gloated; gloating. As a noun, from 1640s with sense of "side-glance;" 1899 as "act of gloating."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper