- self
- O.E. self, seolf, sylf "one's own person, same," from P.Gmc. *selbaz (cf. O.N. sjalfr, O.Fris. self, Du. zelf, O.H.G. selb, Ger. selbst, Goth. silba), P.Gmc. *selbaz, from PIE *sel-bho-, from base *s(w)e- "separate, apart" (see idiom).
"Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth." [Alan Watts]
Self-made man first recorded 1832, Amer.Eng. - self-abuse
- 1605, "self-deception," from self + abuse (q.v.). As a synonym for "masturbation," it is recorded from 1728; an earlier term was self-pollution (1626).
- self-actualization
- 1939, from self + actualization. Popularized, though not coined, by U.S. psychologist and philosopher Abraham H. Maslow. (1908-1970).
- self-centered
- 1676, "fixed, stationary," from self + center (v.). In ref. to persons, "engrossed in the self, with little regard for others," it is recorded from 1783.
- self-confident
- 1617, from self + confident (q.v.).
- self-conscious
- 1688, "aware of one's action," a word of the Eng. Enlightenment (Locke was using it by 1690), from self + conscious (q.v.). Morbid sense of "preoccupied with one's own personality" is attested from 1834 (in J.S. Mill).
- self-control
- 1711, from self + control (q.v.). Coined by Eng. moral philosopher Anthony Ashley Cooper Shaftesbury (1671-1713).
- self-criticism
- 1857, from self + criticism (q.v.). First attested in George Eliot; communist party sense is attested from 1933.
- self-defense
- 1651, "act of defending oneself," first attested in Hobbes, from self + defense (q.v.). In sports sense, first with ref. to fencing (1728), then boxing (1820s).
- self-destruct
- as a verb, in ref. to things, "to destroy itself automatically," from self + destruct, apparently first attested in the U.S. TV series "Mission Impossible" (1966). Self-destructive is recorded from 1654, and self-destruction "suicide" is attested from 1586.
- self-determination
- 1683, "determination of mind," from self + determination. Political sense is attested from 1911, popularized by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924).
- self-effacing
- 1902, from self + effacing (q.v.). Self-effacement is recorded from 1866.
- self-esteem
- 1657, from self + esteem (q.v.). Popularized by phrenology, which assigned it a "bump" (Spurzheim, 1815).
- self-evident
- 1690, from self + evident (q.v.). First attested in Locke's "Essay Concerning Human Understanding."
- self-help
- 1831, from self + help (q.v.). Apparently coined by Carlyle. British Self-Help Emigration Society is attested from 1887.
- self-image
- 1939, from self + image (q.v.).
- self-important
- "having or showing an exaggerated estimation of one's own importance," 1775, from self + important (q.v.).
- self-improvement
- 1748, from self + improvement (q.v.).
- self-indulgence
- 1753, from self + indulgence (q.v.).
- self-inflicted
- 1784, from self + inflict (q.v.).
- self-interest
- 1649, from self + interest (q.v.).
"[Self-interest] is a doctrine not very lofty, but clear and sure. It does not seek to attain great objects; but it attains those it aims for without too much effort. ... [It] does not produce great devotion; but it suggests little sacrifices each day; by itself it cannot make a man virtuous; but it forms a multitude of citizens who are regulated, temperate, moderate, farsighted, masters of themselves; and if it does not lead directly to virtue through the will, it brings them near to it insensibly through habits." [Alexis de Tocqueville, "Democracy in America"]
- self-justification
- 1775, from self + justification (see justify).
- self-pity
- 1620s, from self + pity.
- self-portrait
- 1831, from self + portrait (q.v.), translating Ger. Selbstbildnis.
- self-possession
- "command of one's emotions," 1745, from self + possession (q.v.).
- self-preservation
- 1614, from self + preservation (q.v.). First attested in Donne.
- self-reliance
- 1883, from self + reliance (q.v.). First recorded in J.S. Mill.
- self-respect
- "proper regard for the dignity of one's person," 1795, from self + respect (q.v.).
- self-righteous
- c.1680, from self + righteous (q.v.).
- self-sacrifice
- 1711 (implied in self-sacrific'd), from self + sacrifice (q.v.).
- self-service (adj.)
- 1919, in ref. to grocery stores, from self + service (q.v.).
- self-starter
- 1894, of engines, 1960, of persons (esp. workers), self + starter (see start). Self-starting, of motors, is attested from 1866.
- self-sufficiency
- 1623, originally an attribute of God (translating Gk. autakreia), from self + sufficiency. Of mortals, self-sufficient "able to supply one's own needs" is recorded from 1589.
- self-willed
- c.1470, from self + willed (see will).
- selfish
- 1640, from self (q.v.). Said in Hacket's life of Archbishop Williams (1693) to have been coined by Presbyterians. In the 17c., synonyms included self-seeking (1628), self-ended and self-ful.
"Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to, because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs." [Richard Dawkins, "The Selfish Gene," 1976]
- selfless
- "devoted to others' welfare or interest and not one's own," 1825, from self. First attested in Coleridge.
- selfsame
- "identical," 1408, from self + same. Written as two words until c.1600.
- itself
- late 14c., from O.E. hit sylf, from it + self (q.v.). Since 17c. usually regarded as its self (cf. its own self).
- myself
- O.E., from phrase ic me self, where me is "a kind of ethical dative" [OED], altered in Middle Ages from meself on analogy of herself, with her- felt as gen.; though analogous hisself remains bad form.
- oneself
- 1540s, one's self. Hyphenated 18c.; written as one word from c.1827, on model of himself, itself, etc.
- unselfish
- 1698, from un- (1) "not" + selfish. Cf. Dan. uselvisk, Swed. osjälfvisk.