self English · revision 2530

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725 (Old English self, Beowulf)|origins=gem-pro *selbaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /self/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|self]], [[inh|ang|self|t=one's own person; same]] (also [[m|ang|seolf]], [[m|ang|sylf]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from [[gem-pro|*selbaz]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Its cognates include [[osx|self]], [[goh|selb]], [[de|selbst]], [[nl|zelf]] and [[non|sjálfr]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) and Gothic has silba.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Its further origin is unknown according to Hoad and the SOED;^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) Barnhart calls it obscure, but notes that many scholars take it as a compound of the reflexive pronoun stem [[ine-pro|*se-]], found in Latin [[m|la|sē|t=oneself]] and German [[m|de|sich]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Watkins derives it from a suffixed form of [[m|ine-pro|*s(w)e-]], the pronoun of the third person and reflexive.^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) It is related to [[suicide]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Following a noun as an emphatic pronoun, “that very one”: before 900;^(OED 1989) Barnhart's first example is from about 725, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old English ''self'' was used with a noun or pronoun, as in ''the man self'',^(Barnhart 1988) and with a personal pronoun it gave the reflexives such as ''him selfum'', the source of [[himself]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) These intensive and reflexive pronouns later replaced the old construction.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The adjective “the same, the very” is from Old English,^(Hoad 1986) now archaic except of a colour that is the same throughout, a use from 1562.^(HTOED)^(Hoad 1986) From the 14th century there was a tendency to treat ''self'' as a noun meaning “person”,^(OED 1989) and the noun “an individual person” is from the 13th century.^(Hoad 1986)^(MW Collegiate) In philosophy, the self as the ego or the conscious subject is from 1641,^(HTOED) and a person's individuality from 1595.^(HTOED) A ''second self'', a close friend, is from 1557.^(HTOED) The verb “to fertilize with pollen of the same plant” is from 1905.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) ''Selfish'' is from the 17th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''self'' (''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 13th century – noun, an individual person.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1557 – a ''second self''.^(HTOED)

+ * 1562 – of a colour, uniform.^(HTOED)

+ * 1595 – one's individuality.^(HTOED)

+ * 1641 – the self in philosophy.^(HTOED)

+ * 17th century – ''selfish''.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1905 – verb, to self-fertilize.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The whole, essential being of a person; the [[individual]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The qualities that set one person apart from others; [[individuality]].^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # One's awareness of one's own being; the [[ego]].^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # One's own interests or advantage.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # ''(immunology)'' What the [[immune system]] recognizes as belonging to the body.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # ''(informal)'' Myself, yourself, himself or herself: ''a ticket for self and wife''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of the same colour or character throughout.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # Of the same material as the thing it is used with: ''a self belt''.^(AHD)

+ # ''(archaic)'' Same, identical.^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To fertilize with pollen from the same plant.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[self-abuse]]

+ * [[self-care]]

+ * [[self-contained]]

+ * [[selfheal]]

+ * [[selfward]]

+ * [[selvage]]

+ * [[self-centered]]

+ * [[selfdom]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[himself]]

+ * [[herself]]

+ * [[itself]]

+ * [[myself]]

+ * [[selfish]]

+ * [[selfsame]]

+ * [[suicide]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}