oneself

Etymology

It is formed from English one + self.^[2][3][4] At first the first element was the genitive one's, and the compound was made on the model of myself;^[2][5] in later use it was also understood as one plus self, like himself and itself.^[2][5] Etymonline calls it an emphatic form of the pronoun one.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person's own self, in emphatic use: 1540, in John Palsgrave's translation of Gnapheus's play Acolastus, "the myschefe of louynge of ones selfe".^[2][6] The reflexive use follows in 1548.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The word began as the two words one's self, and that spelling is still recorded as a less common or archaic variant.^[6][8][9] Etymonline says it was hyphenated in the 18th century and written solid from about 1827, after himself, herself and itself;^[3] Grammarphobia cites an OED example of the solid spelling from Fanny Burney's Camilla (1796).^[6] The reflexive use, as the object of a verb or preposition, became the usual one, and the pronoun is now often paired with the indefinite pronoun one ("one must look after oneself").^[2][5] The sense "one's normal or healthy self", as in be oneself, is recorded by Merriam-Webster and Collins.^[7][10]

Timeline

• 1540 – emphatic use, a person's own self, as ones selfe.^[2][6]
• 1548 – reflexive use, as object of a verb or preposition.^[2][7]
• 18th century – written with a hyphen.^[3]
• 1796 – the solid spelling oneself, in Fanny Burney's Camilla.^[6]
• c. 1827 – written as one word, according to Etymonline.^[3]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. The reflexive form of the indefinite pronoun one, used as the object of a verb or preposition: It is hard to forgive oneself for such a mistake.^[10][8][2]
2. Used for emphasis, in apposition to one: One would rather check the figures oneself.^[10][8][2]
3. One's normal or usual state of body or mind: After a long illness one is slow to feel oneself again.^[10][7]

Related words

• self
• one
• myself
• himself
• itself

Usage notes

Grammarphobia notes that oneself is now the usual form in both Britain and the United States, while one's self, the older form, survives as a less common variant in some dictionaries.^[6][8]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f O'Conner, Patricia T.; Kellerman, Stewart, The Grammarphobia Blog, grammarphobia.com, p. "Oneself or one’s self?", 6 September 2021
7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
10. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins