Etymologically
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herself

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /həˈself/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English hire self,[2] inherited from Old English hire self, the dative of hēo self (“she herself”),[2][3] from her and self.[3][4] It was originally dative, but since the 14th century it has often been treated as the possessive her and the noun self.[3][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a dative and object after a preposition: 971.[5]

Semantic evolution

In apposition with a nominative, for emphasis (“she herself”), it is from about 1175,[5] and in place of the nominative from before 1300.[5] As a direct object, the reflexive use, it is from about 1374.[5] Treating her as the possessive led to phrases such as her own sweet self.[3][5] Welsh and Gaelic speakers, or those mocking their English, used herself for “he” or “I” from about 1707.[5] In Irish English herself is a man's wife or the woman of the house.[7]

Timeline

  • 971 – dative and prepositional object.[5]
  • c. 1175 – emphatic, in apposition.[5]
  • before 1300 – in place of she.[5]
  • c. 1374 – reflexive object.[5]
  • c. 1707 – used by Gaelic and Welsh speakers for other pronouns.[5]

Modern meaning

Pronoun

  1. Used reflexively as the object of a verb or preposition: she hurt herself.
  2. Used for emphasis: she herself said so.
  3. Her normal or healthy state: she isn't herself today.
  4. (Irish) The woman of the house; one's wife.

Usage notes

In the dialects of Scotland, the Isle of Man and western England in herself meant “in her general health”.[8]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)