Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness compared to others. Prior to the 14th century, it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic synonym for ''vanity'', but originally meant ''considering one's own capabilities and that God's help was not needed'', i.e. unjustified boasting; although ''glory'' is now seen as having a predominantly positive meaning, the Latin term from which it derives, ''gloria'', roughly means ''boasting'', and was often used as a negative criticism.
Provided by Wikipedia