yourself

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /jɔːˈself/, /jʊəˈself/, US /jʊrˈself/^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound, from English your + self,^[2][3][4] though the Shorter Oxford notes that your was originally the pronoun and self an adjective, later understood as a possessive and a noun.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Emphatic or reflexive form of you: by the early 14th century.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The plural yourselves is recorded by the 1520s.^[2] The spelling as two words, your self, is now rare.^[4] Yourself in the sense “your individuality, your own person” is found from about 1405.^[6]

Timeline

• early 14th century – yourself.^[2]
• c. 1405 – one's own person.^[6]
• 1520s – yourselves.^[2]

Modern meaning

Pronoun

1. Used reflexively as the object of a verb or preposition: help yourself.
2. Used for emphasis: you said so yourself.
3. Your normal or healthy state.

Word family

• do-it-yourself

Related words

• your
• self
• myself
• yourselves

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. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ 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)