Etymologically
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oneself

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Pronunciation

  • /wʌnˈsɛlf/[1]

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]

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