ego English · revision 10511

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1707|origins=la ego|origins=ine-pro *eǵh₂}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɛɡəʊ/; /ˈiːɡəʊ/ ''(UK)''; /ˈiɡoʊ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|ego|t=I]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with Old English ic (see [[I]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In metaphysics, the self, that which feels, acts or thinks: by 1707 in Etymonline, implied in egoity;^(Etymonline) 1789 in Barnhart and the OED, in Cowper's letters.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Egotism'' (1714) suggests the word was used earlier.^(Barnhart 1988) The psychoanalytic sense, the conscious part of the mind contrasted with the id, appeared in 1910 in a translation of Freud's Ich;^(Barnhart 1988) the OED records the psychological sense from 1894.^(OED 1989) Conceit, self-importance, is first recorded in 1891, in Kipling's ''The Light that Failed''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Ego trip'' is attested by 1969.^(Etymonline) ''Egoism'' and ''egoist'' are from 1785, from French.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1707 – the self (metaphysics).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1714 – egotism.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1785 – egoism.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1891 – conceit.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1910 – the psychoanalytic ego.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1969 – ego trip.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The self, especially as distinct from the world and other selves.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(psychoanalysis)'' The conscious part of the mind, which mediates between the id and reality.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Self-esteem; one's image of oneself: ''to boost one's ego''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An exaggerated sense of self-importance; conceit.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[egoless]]

+ * [[egophony]]

+ * [[nonego]]

+ * [[egocentric]]

+ * [[egoism]]

+ * [[egoist]]

+ * [[egoistic]]

+ * [[egomania]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[egotism]]

+ * [[id]]

+ * [[superego]]

+ * [[alter ego]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}