Etymologically
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itself

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 14:37. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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)