Sentence:  He is a dingy duck who would assume <WSD>swanship</WSD>, a crow who would strut as a peacock, an alley cat who would pass himself off as a lion. Imagining himself gifted above all of us perfected craftsmen, he has the effrontery to range ... 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The status of being a swan; swanhood, swanness.