English
self
Self comes from Old English self ‘self’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ- ‘one's own’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*selbʰ-‘one's own’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*selbazreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150self‘self’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500salve
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598self
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*selbʰ-‘one's own’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*selbazreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150self‘self’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500salve
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598self
Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “Portia: To these injunctions every one doth swear That…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *swé
such, suicide, solo, idiot, sole, solitary, sans, solitude, desolate, desolation, solitaire, swain, idiocy, sullen, solus, sere, 19 more
through Middle English salve
Today it means
pron Himself, herself, itself, themself, themselves; that specific (person mentioned).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ- / self