Chauvinism
Etymology
From French chauvinisme, said to derive from Nicolas Chauvin, a soldier of Napoleon’s army whose fervent, unquestioning patriotism became a stock joke in French plays — though historians doubt he ever existed. From over-the-top national pride the word broadened; the twentieth-century phrase "male chauvinism" extended it to belief in one sex’s superiority. The origin is thus eponymous but likely legendary, a caution worth stating plainly.
noun · /SHOH-vih-niz-um/
Excessive, uncritical loyalty to one’s own group, nation, or sex, coupled with contempt for others.
What it names
It marks the point where healthy pride curdles into blind partisanship — belief in one’s own side so total that evidence stops mattering.
Example
What began as team spirit shaded into a chauvinism that could not concede a rival had done anything right.
Related idea
Jingoism is chauvinism turned specifically toward aggressive foreign policy — the swagger that itches for war. Chauvinism is the broad attitude; jingoism is its bellicose, flag-waving form.