himself

Pronunciation

• IPA: /hɪmˈself/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English himself, inherited from Old English him selfum,^[2][3][4] the dative of hē self,^[5] formed from him and selfum, the dative of self, here used as an inflected adjective.^[2][3][6] The SOED notes that self was long reinterpreted as a noun, as in the form hisself.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an emphatic dative and object, “that very man”: about 893.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Standing beside a nominative pronoun or noun for emphasis (he himself) it is recorded from about 897,^[7] and with the pronoun left out (himself went) from about 1000, a use now archaic.^[7] As a direct object, the reflexive use familiar today, it is from about 1175.^[7] After be or become, meaning “in his normal state” (he is himself again), it is from 1526.^[7] In Old English the accusative was hine selfne, which himself replaced.^[7] The quasi-noun, as in another himself, is from 1622.^[7][8] The English Dialect Dictionary records Scots and northern phrases such as at himself, “in his right mind”.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 893 – emphatic dative.^[7]
• c. 897 – beside a nominative, for emphasis.^[7]
• c. 1175 – reflexive direct object.^[7]
• 1526 – be himself, in his normal state.^[7]
• 1622 – quasi-noun, a second self.^[7][8]

Modern meaning

Pronoun

1. Used as the object of a verb or preposition when it refers to the same man or boy as the subject: he hurt himself.
2. Used for emphasis: the king himself.
3. His normal or healthy state: he is not himself today.

Related words

• him
• self
• herself
• itself
• myself

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
9. ^ 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)