kvell

verb·/kvɛl/

Express exuberant pride or delight, especially in someone else's achievements; beam with pleased admiration (informal; from Yiddish). Where boast centers the self, kvell centers affection. Pride as overflow.

She couldn’t help but kvell when her nephew stepped onstage, taller than fear and smiling into the lights.

Etymology

From Yiddish kveln “to swell (with emotion),” a verb that makes pride physical. English borrowed it with its warmth intact: joy rising until it shows on the face.

Related Words

gloata darker, meaner cousin; pride with teeth
exultrejoice; more formal, less familial
bragself-centered pride; what kvelling is not
menschcultural kin-word, sharing a Yiddish doorway into English