myself

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See also: Myself

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English myself, meself, from Old English mē selfum and similar phrases, equivalent to me + self, later partly reinterpreted as my + self / -self. Cognate with Scots mysel, mysell (myself), West Frisian mysels (myself), Dutch mijzelf (myself), German mich selbst, mir selbst (myself), Norwegian Bokmål meg selv (myself).

Pronunciation

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  • (stressed) IPA(key): /maɪˈsɛlf/
  • Audio (UK):(file)
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • (unstressed) IPA(key): /məˈsɛlf/
  • Hyphenation: my‧self
  • Rhymes: -ɛlf

Pronoun

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myself (reflexive case of I)

  1. (reflexive pronoun) Me, as direct or indirect object the speaker as the object of a verb or preposition, when the speaker is also the subject. [from 9th c.]
    I taught myself.
    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
      Thinks I to myself, “Sol, you're run off your course again. This is a rich man's summer ‘cottage’ and if you don't look out there's likely to be some nice, lively dog taking an interest in your underpinning.”
  2. Personally, for my part; used in apposition to I, sometimes for simple emphasis and sometimes with implicit exclusion of any others performing the activity described. [from 10th c.]
  3. In my normal state of body or mind.
  4. Me (as the object of a verb or preposition). [from 10th c.]
    I feel like myself.
  5. (archaic) I (as the subject of a verb). [from 14th c.]
  6. (India, Pakistan, nonstandard) my name is...
    Myself John.

Usage notes

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  • Use where I could be used is mostly poetic or archaic, except with a coordinating conjunction, such as and.
  • Garner's Modern American Usage (2009) reports opposition to the intensifier use, especially where I could be used.
  • AP Stylebook Online (2010) reports opposition to the intensifier use as reflexive pronouns (like myself) should not be used instead of objective pronouns (like me).

Synonyms

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  • (reflexive pronoun): me
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Translations

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See also

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Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old English mē self, mē seolf, equivalent to my +‎ self.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /miːˈsɛlf/, /miˈsɛlf/

Pronoun

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myself

  1. myself

Descendants

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  • English: myself
  • Scots: mysel
  • Yola: meezil

References

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