self

See also self-

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle English self, silf, sulf, from Old English self, seolf, sylf (“same, self, very, own”), from Proto-Germanic *selbaz (“self”), from Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ- (“one's own”), from Proto-Indo-European *s(w)e- (“separate, apart”). Cognate with Scots self (“self”), West Frisian self (“self”), Dutch zelf (“self”), Low German sulv (“self”), German selbst (“self”), Danish selv (“self”), Icelandic sjálfur (“self”). Possibly related to Albanian thelb (“core, center, heart”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sɛlf/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛlf

Pronoun

self

1. (obsolete) Himself, herself, itself, themselves; that specific (person mentioned).

   This argument was put forward by the defendant self.

2. (commercial or humorous) Myself.

   I made out a cheque, payable to self, which cheered me up somewhat.

Noun

self (plural selves)

1. An individual person as the object of his own reflective consciousness.
   • Sir W. Hamilton

     The self, the I, is recognized in every act of intelligence as the subject to which that act belongs. It is I that perceive, I that imagine, I that remember, I that attend, I that compare, I that feel, I that will, I that am conscious.

Derived terms

• selfie

Related terms

• selfdom
• selfhood
• selfish
• selfless
• selflike
• selfsame
• myself, ourselves, yourself, thyself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, themselves, oneself, one's self

Translations

individual person as the object of his own reflective consciousness

• Arabic: نفس (ar) (nafs)
• Azeri: özü (az)
• Baluchi: وت (wat)
• Belarusian: сам (be) (sam) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 自己 (cmn) (zìjǐ), (as a prefix) 自 (cmn) (zì), 自我 (cmn) (zìwǒ)

• Crimean Tatar: özü
• Dutch: zelf (nl) n
• Finnish: itse (fi)
• French: soi-même (fr) m
• German: Selbst (de) n
• Hungarian: önvaló (hu)
• Ido: ipsa
• Irish: féin (ga)
• Italian: stesso (it)
• Japanese: 自己 (ja) (じこ, jiko), 自身 (ja) (じしん, jíshin), 自我 (ja) (じが, jiga)

• Kazakh: өз (kk) (öz)
• Korean: 자신 (ko) (jasin), 자기자신 (ko) (jagijasin)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: خۆ (ku) (xo)

• Latin: idem (la)
• Norwegian: selv (no)
• Persian: خود (fa) (xod)
• Russian: сам (ru) (sam) m, себя (ru) (sebjá) (genitive case, accusative case), себе (ru) (sebé) (dative case, prepositional case), собой (ru) (sobój) (instrumental case)
• Sanskrit: स्वयं (sa) (svayam)
• Spanish: yo m (psychology), ser m (psychology)
• Swedish: själv (sv)
• Tagalog: sarili (tl)
• Turkish: kendi (tr), öz (tr)
• Ukrainian: сам (uk) (sam) m
• West Frisian: sels (fy)

See also

• self-
• person
• I
• ego

Verb

self (third-person singular simple present selfs, present participle selfing, simple past and past participle selfed)

1. (botany) To fertilise by the same individual; to self-fertilise or self-pollinate.
2. (botany) To fertilise by the same strain; to inbreed.

Antonyms

• outcross

Adjective

self

1. (obsolete) same
   • 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear, I.i:

     I am made of that self mettle as my sister.

External links

• self in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• self in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams

• LSFE

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Maltese

Noun

self

1. loan

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Old English

Alternative forms

• seolf, sylf

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *selbaz, whence also Old Frisian self, Old Saxon self, Old Dutch self, Old High German selb, Old Norse sjálfr, Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌱𐌰 (silba). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ- (“one's own”), from *s(w)e- (“separate, apart”).

Pronoun

self

1. self

Descendants

• Middle English: self, silf, sulf
  • Scots: self
  • English: self

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Old Saxon

Alternative forms

• selvo

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *selbaz, whence also Old English self, Old Frisian self, Old Dutch self, Old High German selb, Old Norse sjálfr, Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌱𐌰 (silba). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ- (“one's own”), from *s(w)e- (“separate, apart”).

Pronoun

self

1. self

Descendants

• Low German: sulv