Etymologically
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selber

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈzɛlbər/, [ˈzɛl.bɐ][1]

Forms

selber (demonstrative, invariable)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German sëlber, the strong nominative singular masculine of selp (“self, same”), fixed as an indeclinable form.[2][3][1] This continues inherited from Old High German selb, inherited from Proto-Germanic *selbaz (“self”).[4][5][1] The same word is Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌱𐌰 (silba), Old Norse sjálfr, Old English seolf, Old Frisian self and Old Saxon self, and today Dutch zelf, English self and Swedish själv.[4][5][6] The other form, selbst, is the adverbial genitive with an added /t/.[4][7]

There are no certain comparisons outside Germanic.[6][7] Kluge and Pfeifer first compare Venetic sselboisselboi (“themselves”), with the doubling also found in Old High German selbselbo.[4][6] Kluge further connects Old Irish selb and Welsh helw “possession”, from Proto-Indo-European *sel-wo-, and cites Oettinger's analysis as the reflexive Proto-Indo-European *s(w)e- with a suffix of belonging and the adjective ending Proto-Indo-European *-bʰo-.[4] Pfeifer's account is similar: the pronoun stem *se-, the l-suffix of Latin tālis, and the suffix of kind.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German selb is recorded from the 8th century in glosses, the Abrogans and the Isidor translation, and then in Tatian, Otfrid and Notker, meaning “self, the same, own”.[8][9][10] The masculine nominative selbēr was one of its inflected forms.[6]

Semantic evolution

In Middle High German selber was correct only in the nominative singular masculine and the genitive and dative singular feminine, but from the end of the 12th century it spread to other cases as an invariable form.[3] Berthold of Regensburg writes “vor gote selber” (“before God himself”).[11] It never replaced the genitive.[3] The Grimms reject the old idea that it was a comparative of selb.[3] In the standard language selbst became the usual form, and selber is now colloquial.[2][7]

Timeline

  • 8th century – Old High German selb appears in glosses.[4][8]
  • End of the 12th century – selber begins to be used for all cases.[3]
  • 13th century – Berthold of Regensburg uses the invariable selber.[11]

Meanings

Pronoun

  1. (colloquial) Self, in person: myself, yourself, himself and so on, the same as selbst: Das habe ich selber gesehen.[2][1]
  2. By oneself, on one's own, without help: Den Kuchen hat sie selber gebacken.[2][1]
  3. (inflected, dated) The same.[1]

Usage notes

In the south the word is also pronounced with a voiceless /s/ at the start.[1] Selber is the colloquial form; written standard German prefers selbst.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  3. ^ a b c d e Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 16, 430
  4. ^ a b c d e f Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 841
  5. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  7. ^ a b c Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  9. ^ Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 7, 1076
  10. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 275
  11. ^ a b Lexer, Matthias (1872–1878), Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols., Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 2, 861