itself

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪtˈself/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English, from Old English hit self, from hit (“it”) and self,^[2][3] that is, it and self.^[4][2] The SOED notes that self was originally an adjective, but long interpreted as a noun,^[4] and Etymonline that since the 17th century the word has usually been taken as “its self”, hence “its own self”.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a direct object: Old English, 971 in the OED;^[5] as an emphatic pronoun about 1000.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline dates the form itself to the late 14th century.^[2] From before 1300 to the 17th century it was also used as a possessive, “its own”.^[5][6] Used alone as a predicate, as in he is kindness itself, it is from about 1600.^[5] By itself, “apart; automatically”, is a common phrase.^[4] In Yorkshire and Northamptonshire dialect itself could mean “himself, herself”, and was used as a term of endearment to a child.^[7]

Timeline

• 971 – Old English hit self.^[5]
• late 14th century – itself.^[2]
• before 1300 – possessive, its own.^[5]
• c. 1600 – emphatic predicate.^[5]

Modern meaning

Pronoun

1. Used reflexively as the object of a verb or preposition: the cat washed itself.
2. Used for emphasis: the house itself.
3. Its normal state: the town is not itself.

Word family

• thing-in-itself

Related words

• it
• its
• self
• himself
• herself
• themselves

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 c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
7. ^ 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)