herself English · revision 3079

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=971|origins=en her, en self}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|hire self]],^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|hire self]], the dative of [[m|ang|hēo self|t=she herself]],^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) from [[her]] and [[self]].^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) It was originally dative, but since the 14th century it has often been treated as the possessive ''her'' and the noun ''self''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a dative and object after a preposition: 971.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In apposition with a nominative, for emphasis (“she herself”), it is from about 1175,^(OED 1989) and in place of the nominative from before 1300.^(OED 1989) As a direct object, the reflexive use, it is from about 1374.^(OED 1989) Treating ''her'' as the possessive led to phrases such as ''her own sweet self''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Welsh and Gaelic speakers, or those mocking their English, used ''herself'' for “he” or “I” from about 1707.^(OED 1989) In Irish English ''herself'' is a man's wife or the woman of the house.^(Dalzell 2013)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 971 – dative and prepositional object.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1175 – emphatic, in apposition.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1300 – in place of ''she''.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1374 – reflexive object.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1707 – used by Gaelic and Welsh speakers for other pronouns.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # Used [[reflexive|alt=reflexively]] as the object of a verb or preposition: ''she hurt herself''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Used for emphasis: ''she herself said so''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Her normal or healthy state: ''she isn't herself today''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(Irish)'' The woman of the house; one's wife.^(Dalzell 2013)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[himself]]

+ * [[itself]]

+ * [[her]]

+ * [[self]]

+ * [[she]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In the dialects of Scotland, the Isle of Man and western England ''in herself'' meant “in her general health”.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}