Self Turned Into a Noun Only Recently
The self is a person's essential being. The word began as an emphasiser, not a thing.
The self is a person's essential being, and *self-* forms countless compounds. Old English *self* was not a noun at all but an emphasising word meaning *same* or *very*, used as in *the king himself*. Only in the 1600s did philosophers turn it into a thing you could have — a move that gave English *self-esteem*, *self-conscious* and eventually *selfie*. The reflexive pronouns *myself* and *yourself* preserve the original emphasising use exactly.
- Essential being. *A sense of self.*
- Reflexive. *Myself.*
- Self- as a prefix. *Self-taught.*
- Selfish. *Selfish.*
- Old English — *self*, same. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | self | The self. |
| Plural | selves | Selves. |
| Adjective | selfish | Selfish. |
| Adjective | selfless | Selfless. |
| Prefix | self- | Self-aware. |
- A strong sense of self.Noun.
- He did it himself.Emphasis.
- Selfish was coined in the 1640s.History.
When the self-words appeared
- Selfish — coined in the 1640s, apparently by Presbyterian writers
- Self-esteem — recorded from the 1650s
- Self-conscious — 1680s, originally meaning aware of oneself
- Self-help — 1800s
- Selfie — Australian coinage, 2002
Old English *self*, same or very, used as an emphasiser before becoming a noun in the 1600s.
Was self always a noun?
No. In Old English it was an emphasising word meaning same or very. The noun sense appeared with philosophers in the 1600s.
How old is the word selfish?
It was coined in the 1640s, much later than most basic English words.