Etymologically
Log in

himself

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 13:41. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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.

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)