The Spanish word 'soberbio' meaning 'arrogant' or 'proud' comes from the Latin word 'superbus' with the same meaning. The Latin 'superbus' was formed by combining two elements: the prefix 'super-' meaning 'above' and the suffix '-bus' which was used to form adjectives. The idea behind this construction was to describe someone who places themselves 'above' others, hence developing the meaning of pride or arrogance.

A related and more common Spanish word is 'sobre' meaning 'over' or 'above', which comes from the same Latin root 'super-'. While 'sobre' maintained the literal spatial meaning of being above something, 'soberbio' developed the metaphorical meaning of someone who considers themselves above others.

Several English words are related to 'soberbio' through the Latin root 'super-'. The most obvious ones are 'superb' (which comes directly from Latin 'superbus' but has evolved to mean 'excellent' rather than 'proud'), and words with 'super-' like 'superior', 'supernatural', and 'superstar'. While 'superb' has taken on a positive connotation in English, its Spanish cousin 'soberbio' retained more of the original Latin sense of excessive pride.