himselfpron.n.

Brit.

/hɪmˈsɛlf/, U.S.

/hɪmˈsɛlf/

Inflections: Plural (in branch B.) (rare) himselves, himselfs.

Forms: (Word division in Old and Middle English examples frequently reflects editorial choices of modern editors of texts, rather than the practice of the manuscripts.)

α. Old English him selfa (weak declension), Old English him seolfa (weak declension), Old English him silfa (weak declension), Old English him silue (dative, rare), Old English him sylfa (weak declension), Old English himsylfa (weak declension), Old English him syluon (dative, rare), Old English him syluum (dative, rare), Old English (early Middle English south-western and south-west midlands) him seolf, Old English (rare) Middle English–1600s hym self, Old English (rare)–early Middle English him seluum (dative), Old English–early Middle English himsylf, Old English–Middle English him silf, Old English–Middle English him sylf, Old English (rare)–Middle English hymsylf, Old English (rare)–Middle English hym sylf, Old English–1600s him self, Old English– himself, late Old English (early Middle English south-western and south-west midlands) himseolf, early Middle English hem sulf (east midlands), early Middle English himm sellf ( Ormulum), early Middle English himm sellfenn ( Ormulum, inflected form), early Middle English him sellf, early Middle English him selþ (transmission error), early Middle English him selu, early Middle English him-selua, early Middle English him seluan (in copy of Old English charter), early Middle English him-seluan, early Middle English him seluein (perhaps transmission error), early Middle English him-seolfe (south-western), early Middle English him-seolfen (south-west midlands), early Middle English him seolfen (west midlands), early Middle English him-seolfne (south-west midlands, perhaps transmission error), early Middle English him-seoluan (south-west midlands), early Middle English him-seolue (south-western and south-west midlands), early Middle English him seolue (south-western and south-west midlands), early Middle English him-seoluen (south-west midlands), early Middle English him seoluen (chiefly south-west midlands), early Middle English him silven, early Middle English him solf (south-west midlands), early Middle English him solue (south-west midlands), early Middle English him soluen (south-west midlands), early Middle English him suelf (south-west midlands), early Middle English himsulf (south-western and south-west midlands), early Middle English him sulfen (south-west midlands), early Middle English him sulfne (south-west midlands), early Middle English him-sulue (south-western), early Middle English himsuluen (south-west midlands), early Middle English himsylfe, early Middle English him sylfe, Old English (rare)–early Middle English him sylfne (inflected form), early Middle English him syluen, early Middle English hm solf (south-west midlands, transmission error), early Middle English hym seolf (south-west midlands), early Middle English hymseolue (south-west midlands), early Middle English hym-seolue (south-west midlands), early Middle English hym seolue (south-west midlands), early Middle English hym syfe (transmission error), early Middle English im self, early Middle English ym self, Middle English him seelf, Middle English himselfen, Middle English him-selfen, Middle English him selfen, Middle English himselff, Middle English him-selff, Middle English himselffe, Middle English him-selffe, Middle English him selffe, Middle English him-selfi (transmission error), Middle English himselue, Middle English him-selue, Middle English him selue, Middle English himseluen, Middle English him-seluen, Middle English him seluen, Middle English him seluin, Middle English himseluun (north-west midlands), Middle English him seluyn, Middle English him-selve, Middle English him selve, Middle English himselven, Middle English himselvyn, Middle English him-selwe, Middle English him-selwen, Middle English him-seolf (south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English himsilf, Middle English him-silf, Middle English himsilfe, Middle English him-silfe, Middle English him silfe, Middle English him-silue, Middle English him silue, Middle English him-siluen, Middle English him silve, Middle English him-sulf (south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English him sulf (south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English him sulue (south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English him suluen (south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English himsylff, Middle English himzelf (south-eastern), Middle English him-zelf (south-eastern), Middle English himzelue (south-eastern), Middle English him-zelue (south-eastern), Middle English him zelue (south-eastern), Middle English him-zelve (south-eastern), Middle English hin self (south-west midlands), Middle English hymeself, Middle English hyme-self, Middle English hyme self, Middle English hymeselfe, Middle English hyme-selfe, Middle English hyme-selfene, Middle English hyme-selffe, Middle English hymme selfe, Middle English hym seelf, Middle English hym-selfen, Middle English hym selfen, Middle English hym-selfene, Middle English hym-selff, Middle English hym-selffe, Middle English hym selffe, Middle English hym-selfon (in a late copy), Middle English hym sellfe, Middle English hymselue, Middle English hym-selue, Middle English hymseluen, Middle English hym-seluen, Middle English hym seluen, Middle English hym seluon (in a late copy), Middle English hym seluyn, Middle English hymselve, Middle English hym-selve, Middle English hym selve, Middle English hymselven, Middle English hym selven, Middle English hym-selvene, Middle English hym selvyn, Middle English hym selwe, Middle English hymseoluen, Middle English hym sijlf, Middle English hymsilf, Middle English hym-silf, Middle English hym silf, Middle English hymsilfe, Middle English hym-silfe, Middle English hymsilff, Middle English hym silff, Middle English hymsilffe, Middle English hym-silffe, Middle English hym silffe, Middle English hym siluen, Middle English hym-silve, Middle English hymsulf (south-western), Middle English hym sulf (south-western), Middle English hym sulue (south-western), Middle English hym-sylf, Middle English hymsylfe, Middle English hym-sylfe, Middle English hym sylfe, Middle English hymsylff, Middle English hym-sylff, Middle English hym sylff, Middle English hym sylue, Middle English im sulf (south-western), Middle English 1600s him-self, Middle English–1500s him selff, Middle English–1500s hym-self, Middle English–1500s hym-selfe, Middle English–1500s hymselff, Middle English–1500s hym selff, Middle English–1500s hymselffe, Middle English–1500s hym selue, Middle English–1500s hym silfe, Middle English–1600s himselfe, Middle English–1600s him-selfe, Middle English–1600s him selfe, Middle English–1600s himselve, Middle English–1600s hymself, Middle English–1600s hymselfe, Middle English–1600s hym selfe, late Middle English hemself, late Middle English hem selfe, late Middle English hemselff, late Middle English hymselef, late Middle English hym-selph, late Middle English hym selph, late Middle English hym selphe, late Middle English hym selvel (transmission error), late Middle English hynself, 1500s hem self, 1500s hymsellff, 1500s hym sellff, 1500s hym seylf, 1500s ym-seylff, 1600s hime sealf, 1800s– imself (regional and nonstandard), 1800s– 'imself (regional and nonstandard); Scottish pre-1700 hem selfe, pre-1700 hime self, pre-1700 himeselff, pre-1700 hime selff, pre-1700 hime selyf, pre-1700 him-self, pre-1700 him self, pre-1700 himselfe, pre-1700 him-selfe, pre-1700 him selfe, pre-1700 himselff, pre-1700 him-selff, pre-1700 him selff, pre-1700 him selfin, pre-1700 him selfyn, pre-1700 him sellf, pre-1700 himsellfe, pre-1700 himsellff, pre-1700 him sellff, pre-1700 himsellffe, pre-1700 himselu, pre-1700 himselue, pre-1700 him selue, pre-1700 him seluen, pre-1700 him seluin, pre-1700 himselve, pre-1700 him selve, pre-1700 him selven, pre-1700 him-selvin, pre-1700 him-selwyn, pre-1700 him selwyn, pre-1700 hymeself, pre-1700 hyme-self, pre-1700 hyme self, pre-1700 hymeselfe, pre-1700 hyme-selfe, pre-1700 hymeselff, pre-1700 hyme selff, pre-1700 hymeselfine, pre-1700 hymself, pre-1700 hym-self, pre-1700 hym self, pre-1700 hymselfe, pre-1700 hym-selfe, pre-1700 hym selfe, pre-1700 hymselff, pre-1700 hym-selff, pre-1700 hym selff, pre-1700 hym selffe, pre-1700 hym selue, pre-1700 hym-seluen, pre-1700 hym selvyn, pre-1700 hym-selvyne, pre-1700 hym-selwine, pre-1700 hym-selwyn, pre-1700 hym selwyn, pre-1700 1700s– himself, 2000s– umself.

β. early Middle English him sulne (south-west midlands, perhaps transmission error), Middle English him selen (northern, perhaps transmission error), 1600s him sen; English regional 1800s– himsen.

γ. Middle English him sele (northern, perhaps transmission error), 1600s him zell, 1600s hym sell; English regional 1800s himsel', 1800s– himsel, 1800s– imsel, 1900s– himsell; U.S. regional 1800s– himsel', 1900s– himsel; Scottish pre-1700 him sell, pre-1700 1700s– himsel, pre-1700 1700s– himsell, 1700s– himsel', 1800s 'imsel', 1800s 'imsell, 1800s– 'imsel, 1900s– himsael (Orkney), 1900s– imsel, 1900s– umsel, 1900s– 'umsel'; Irish English 1800s himzil (Wexford), 1900s– himsel (northern).

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: him pron., self pron.

Etymology: < him pron. + self pron., originally the dative form corresponding to hē self heself pron. and hit self itself pron. Old English him self , etc. (see α. forms) originally represents an inflected form (dative) of hē self heself pron. and hit self itself pron. There are two distinct constructions: (i) in which self is inflected in agreement with the dative of the personal pronoun (compare e.g. quots. eOE at sense A. 2, OE¹ at sense A. 7); and (ii) in which self is in the nominative in agreement with the subject of the sentence, with the personal pronoun him representing a kind of reflexive or ethical dative (compare early quots. at sense A. 1); compare further B. Mitchell Old Eng. Syntax (1985) §§487–91 and see discussion at self pron. In Old English hē self also had a regular inflected accusative form hine selfne in emphatic and reflexive use as direct object and after prepositions (compare discussion at sense A. 2). This survives into early Middle English, and occasionally is also attested in such forms as late Old English hine sylfen , early Middle English hine seluen , etc., reflecting weak inflection in Old English and probably also the influence of the dative. Very occasionally hine also occurs in combination with nominative or uninflected self (compare quots. eOE, lOE). Compare:eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) vii. §1. 54 Gif he losige, & hine mon eft gefo, forgielde he hine self a be his weregilde.OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxvii. 42 Oþere he gehælde & hyne sylfne [L. ipsum] gehælan ne mæg.OE Ælfric Homily (Cambr. Ii.4.6) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1967) I. 364 Forði hi ne bædon on þæs Hælendes naman, for ðan þe hi hæfdon hine sylfne mid heom.lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1086 Walawa þet ænig man sceolde modigan swa, hine sylf upp ahebban & ofer ealle men tellan.c1175 ( Ælfric Homily (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine Old Eng. Homilies (1993) 42 Godes laȝe wæs isett, þurh hine sylfne iwriten, on twam stænene weaxbræden.c1175 ( Homily (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine Old Eng. Homilies (1993) 141 Hwilon he sceawæð hine seluen on engles hywe, and bið þeahweðere awariȝed gast.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 25 Þe swica..bi-swikeð hine seolfe on-ende.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 934 Forð com Corineus & fusde hine sulfne [c1300 Otho him-seolue]. It is uncertain whether the following isolated use of early Middle English hin-seolf in Laȝamon's Brut represents hine self or himself pron., although the latter seems more likely (compare sense A. 3a):c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 15032 He for-bað [read for-bad] þan kingen; kine-helm to nimene; a þat hin-seolf comen; and setten hine an heore hafden.Middle English hin self at α. forms reflects an isolated 14th-cent. attestation and probably shows delabialization of m (before s ) in him- (if it is not simply a scribal error) rather than a late reflex of hine self . Likewise, the very late (1494) form hynself at α. forms. In sense A. 6 apparently partly after Irish eisean and Scottish Gaelic esan, emphatic forms of the third person singular masculine pronoun, and partly after Irish é féin (he) himself ( < é , third person singular masculine pronoun + féin self, commonly used to emphasize a pronoun or noun: see Sinn Fein n.) and the similarly-formed Scottish Gaelic e fhèin. Specific uses of Irish é féin and Scottish Gaelic e fhèin to denote the man of the house or the husband may be after English.

A. pron. The emphatic and reflexive pronoun corresponding to he, him, and (formerly) it.Used to denote a male person or animal, or something personified as male, or (in early use) a thing grammatically masculine or neuter; later also sometimes to denote a person or animal regardless of gender.

I. Emphatic uses.

1. In apposition to a personal noun (as subject, predicate, or object), or to the subjective pronoun he, or (occasionally) the objective pronoun him: that particular male person or animal, etc.; the male person in question personally.When used for simple emphasis of the subject himself is now generally placed immediately after the pronoun, noun, or name; in other positions there is often an explicit or implicit contrast with the idea of any other person performing the action.Occasionally used in relation to a singular noun or pronoun of undetermined gender. Cf. he pron. 2b.

ΚΠ

eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xv. 91 Hit oft anlycð & geopenað ða scylde ðe se him self [L. ipse] ær nyste se hie ðurhteah.

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) ix. 256 He wæs mid wisdome afylled, for ðan þe he is him sylf wisdom.

OE tr. Gospel of Nicodemus (Cambr.) xxvii. §5. 243 Pilatus þa on hys domerne hymsylf awrat ealle þa þyng.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 195 He wollde ben himm sellf..i waterr fullhtnedd.

a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 5 (MED) Godd seið him self ðat hie sculen bien ineðerede.

c1300 Life & Martyrdom Thomas Becket (Harl. 2277) (1845) l. 274 And of the beste him silve he at, swithe scars and lute.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7728 He was riche him sulf.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 5169 Marchus Claudius..was a man of such riote Riht as the king himselve was.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 173 Iesu crist him selue [Fairf. him-self, Gött. him seluen] ches til him apostels tuelue.

c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 50 He him-selue wold neuer ber keye of non office, ne no tresor.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 222 The kynge hymself pulled oute the truncheoune of the speare.

a1535 T. More Hist. Edward V (1641) 5 A proud appetite of the duke himselfe.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward V f. viij^v Which ground was sanctifyed by Sainct Peter him selfe.

1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) ii. 74 They will make Heraclitus himselfe laugh at it.

1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. i. 73 A third cannot bee matcht, vnlesse the deuill himselfe turne Iewe.

1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine i. vii. 17 It is answered, that seven was the compleat and solemne number, whereon God himself emphatically insists.

1693 J. Dennis Miscellanies Pref. sig. b Mr. Dryden himself in his own Satyrs has sometimes made use of double and treble Rhymes.

1717 Censor 2 Feb. A supine indolent Animal, that looks upon the World as if he were no Part of it himself.

1730 Compl. Coll. State-trials (ed. 2) VI. 299/2 I know nothing more of Mr. Layer, but what I had from him himself.

1741 J. Ozell tr. P. de B. de Brantôme Spanish Rhodomontades 25 Old Nick himself was never painted half so ugly.

1776 Trial Maha Rajah Nundocomar for Forgery 36/2 Did your brother write his letters himself, or you for him?

1824 Ann. Reg. 212* He..proposed..to lend money to the miner, that he himself might pay the workmen.

1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 1st Ser. 50 Not Wolsey himself could find more magnificent pleas.

1903 F. W. H. Myers Human Personality I. 139 Some self-suggestive machinery by which the patient cures his toothache himself.

1920 E. E. Dale Tales of Tepee 100 They found his home..but though they searched long, they could never find the man himself.

1947 K. A. Porter Let. 19 Mar. (1990) vi. 334 Who could be more suavely and obliquely cynical than St. Leger himself?

1994 L. de Bernières Capt. Corelli's Mandolin xxxi. 206 He wondered why no one had ever set an opera in modern Greece... Perhaps he should write one himself.

2006 New Yorker 23 Oct. 91/2 He himself is a firecracker of a dancer.

2. Used instead of the objective pronoun him as the direct or indirect object of a verb, or as the object of a preposition.Originally dative. In later use also with verbs that in Old English originally took direct objects in the accusative and with prepositions that originally took complements in the accusative, in both cases replacing hine selfne (see etymological note).

ΚΠ

eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) v. xiii. 129 Antonius..forlet Octauianuses swostor, & him selfum [L. Caesari] onbead gewin & openne feondscipe.

OE Crist I 213 Sceolde witedom in him sylfum beon soðe gefylled.

c1175 ( Ælfric Homily: St. Vincent's Day (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine Old Eng. Homilies (1993) 114 Swa hwa swa deð his Drihtnes willan on eniȝe wisan, he þenæð him sylfum.

c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 46 Þe forme, ȝef a mon is god, preiseð him biuoren him seolf [a1250 Nero himsulf] & makeð him inohreaðe ȝet betere þen he beo.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13935 Arður ȝæf him [sc. Kay] þene tun..and sette þer þene nome after him-seoluen..Kain he hit hehte.

c1300 St. Brendan (Laud) 603 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 236 So we wollez a-wreken us, for on him-sulf [c1300 Harley upe him silve; a1325 Corpus Cambr. up him sulue] it schal go.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2272 Þat oþer [went]..to warne þe prouost..hou he hade seye..þe tvo white beris & bad him-self ȝerne to come.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 2834 To with-stand him a stonde þi strenthe ware to littill. For godis prouidence..Sauys & sustenes him-selfe & socurs him euire.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Macc. viii. 7 They toke him self alyue.

1600 R. Churche tr. M. Fumée Hist. Troubles Hungarie ii. 40 [He] desired his Captaines, not to forsake him during these turbulent broyles, in the midst whereof they saw himselfe deeply plunged.

1628 W. Struther Christian Observ. & Resol. lvii. 145 If they [sc. God's gifts] lead vs to him, and make vs seeke him aboue them all, then wee haue himselfe with his gifts.

1715 T. Parnell Ess. Homer 47 in A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I Thus much..we gather from himself concerning the most ancient State of Poetry in Greece.

1754 D. Hume Hist. Great Brit. I. v. 97 The King..reflected that, however the world might pardon this sally of youth in the Prince, they would never forgive himself.

1822 Nic-Nac 30 Nov. 12/1 He was told it was for himself.

1835 Jrnl. Royal Geogr. Soc. 5 103 The collection of these documents..gave himself and posterity the erroneous idea that the ancient colony was situated on the east coast.

1885 H. M. Clifford Select. Bk. of Ruth 82 The Philistines realised the greatness of their victory over Saul, when they found himself and his three sons amongst the slain.

1904 B. Capes Extraordinary Confessions Diana Please (ed. 2) xxviii. 277 ‘My love!’ he said. She was in like pass to himself.

1957 H. E. Bates Death of Huntsman 63 She regarded himself, the girl, the dancing, and even the dress, with the same unmitigated calm.

2004 T. Ali Beggar at Gate viii. 68 A Hindu..would never eat with a Muslim like himself.

3. Used instead of the subjective pronoun he or him.

a. As subject. Now chiefly archaic and regional.In Old English usually he self or he selfa (see heself pron.). Quot. OE apparently shows omission of the subjective pronoun after a verb in the subjunctive, comparable to the construction with imperative at thyself pron. 1.

ΚΠ

OE Laws of Cnut (Nero) ii. xxx. §7. 334 Nime him v getrywe to & beo him sylf syxta.

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 121 (MED) Mild-heorte he is togenes heom on two wise, alse him self seið on þe holi godspel.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 271 Mani was þe gode bodi þat him self slou a day.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 4059 Him-self [a1400 Vesp. heself] was on þe felde be-side.

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Hab. i. 13 A more iust man than hymsilf [c1384 E.V. than hym].

?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 31 Now god graunt..þat ȝe may come to þat blysse þat hym self is inne.

1479 in Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1839) I. 42/2 Gife him self hapynnis to decesse.

1563 T. Sackville in W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Buckingham sig. T i^v But loe the dread wherewyth him selfe was strest.

1591 G. Fletcher Of Russe Common Wealth f. 43^v To set an other in his saddle, that might haue ridde away with his horse, while himselfe walked by on foote.

1619 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1849) (modernized text) II. 120 Sir Edward Villiers told him himself was the man.

1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. xxvi. 120 Himself, whilest his dinner was making ready, went to see his artillery mounted upon the carriage.

1704 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion III. xiv. 401 The Ship in which himself was..that sprung a plank in the Indies.

1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World I. 10 An Englishman is taught to..acknowledge no other master than the laws which himself has contributed to enact.

1846 M. Lal Life Amir Dost Mohammed Khan I. iii. 91 His younger brothers..were prosperous while himself was poor.

1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in Enoch Arden, etc. 82 The dagger which himself Gave Edith.

1948 P. Kavanagh Tarry Flynn (1965) ii. 42 Every evening himself and Eusebius went down the road.

1957 P. White Voss viii. 180 His two guests got between their blankets, where they were, while himself was gone out on last errands.

2005 D. McWilliams Pope's Children (2008) 85 A nudist island..where himself and other like-minded elderly Germans revel in getting their kits off.

b. As predicate (now chiefly Irish English), and after as or than.

ΚΠ

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 3 Kings ii. 32 He sloowȝ two riȝtwijs men betere þan hym selue.

c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 1656 (MED) Þere watz no mon upon molde of myȝt as hymselven.

1485 Croniclis of Englonde (St. Albans) v. sig. niij By that they wisten well all that it was him self.

?1534 tr. Erasmus Epystell Forbedynge Eatynge of Flesshe sig. H.vi^v He..which iugeth one that is better than him self.

1592 H. Arthington Seduction 27 Saying, wo be to that man by whom the son of man is betraied: telling Iudas when he asked, that it was himselfe.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. iii. 22 I am the dogge: no, the dogge is himselfe, and I am the dogge: oh, the dogge is me, and I am my selfe.

1653 S. Fisher Παιδοβαπτιζοντες Παιδιζοντες: Baby-baptism 408 A people, that are as abhorrent of such abominations as himself.

1705 T. Hearne Ductor Historicus (ed. 2) I. iii. 264 His Companions were altogether as impious and extravagant as himself.

1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Against Apion ii, in tr. Josephus Genuine Wks. 1007 Then does Apion load the ass, that is himself; and lays on him a burden of fooleries, and lies.

1814 Lady Morgan O'Donnel III. vi. 162 Has he been a friend to me, Madam? Oh then it's himself that has, God bless him!

1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. iv. iv. 196 He will not be Thou, but must and will be Himself.

1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. II. ii. 29 Carrying a great bass-viol bigger than himself.

1900 R. Bruce Benbonuna (1904) xii. 171 An' faith 'tis himself is fond of Miss Mary, so he is.

1929 M. de la Roche Whiteoaks xxiv. 326 Looking back at this period, he seemed not to have been himself at all, but a strange translation into a being of another world.

1967 R. Rendell Wolf to Slaughter (1970) xi. 132 If he had known Wexford to be almost as uxorious a husband as himself, he might have believed.

2008 A. Wheatle Dirty South 69 He..always helped those less fortunate than himself.

†4. Adverbially: by himself. In later use only in himself alone. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1293 He to wode wende, to wundre him-seoluan [c1300 Otho to wondri him-seolue], to huntien after deoren.

a1300 Passion our Lord 114 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 40 He com to þe Gywes, þer heo to-gadere were, Al hym seolf one; nedde he nenne yuere.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 840 He woll to thee appiere Be nyhtes time himself alone.

a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) l. 1152 And rode hym forth..This Polymyte..Hym-silf allone on a Ryal Stede.

1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. sig. E.v He wil fight with your grace for the hole quarell .xx. to xx .x. to .x. or els hymselfe alone with your grace man to man.

1564 H. Middlemore tr. Let. Frenche Gentilwoman sig. D.iiij My L. the Prince..had retired himselfe alone into his chamber, & was gone to bed.

1606 J. Marston Parasitaster iv. sig. G^v He would play the foole himselfe alone without any riuall.

1678 G. Hickes Ravillac Redivivus 27 The Person acting incurrs the danger himself alone.

1720 J. Johnson Coll. Eccl. Laws Church of Eng. I. sig. C6 It seems unaccountable, that Augustin himself should go..so far as Arles, to be consecrated himself alone.

1771 H. Farmer Diss. Miracles i. 50 Whether God works the miracles himself alone, or whether he enables and commissions others to work them.

5. In predicative use: his true, natural, or normal self. Esp. in to be himself: to be in his normal state of body and mind; to behave normally (sometimes spec. with the implication of freedom from constraint).Richard's himself again: see Richard n. Phrases.

ΚΠ

1595 H. Roberts Pheander sig. Q4^v Such desperate humors assaileth him, that he is not himselfe.

1682 Loyal Feast (single sheet) Tony will never be himself again.

1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 83 For one man to see another so much himself, as to sigh his Griefs, and groan his Pains, so sing his Joys [etc.].

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 27. ⁋2 When he is himself, and unruffled with Intemperance.

1798 R. S. New Monk II. vii. 175 Her behaviour added confidence to Joshua, and, by degrees, he was himself once more.

1858 J. G. Adams Christian Victor 207 Man cannot truly be himself,..cannot fully exercise and employ the powers of his whole nature, unless it [sc. faith in immortality] be in him.

1889 M. G. Van Rensselaer Six Portraits 100 Correggio is never so completely himself as when he paints little children and half-grown boys.

1939 H. Miller Tropic of Capricorn 103 Every one is so utterly, confoundedly not himself.

1965 R. C. Hodgson et al. Executive Role Constellation xiv. 392 The individual tends to work most closely with those with whom he..can ‘be himself’ with minimal fear of misunderstanding, disdain, and other more organizational repercussions.

2004 H. Holt Silent Killer (2005) xii. 169 He's not himself, not by a long chalk.

6. Originally and chiefly Irish English and Scottish. Sometimes with capital initial. With reference to a particular man, esp. a head of a household or other figure of authority, whose identity is readily understood in a particular context without prior reference or explanation by the speaker.

a. = he pron. 1a(a).

ΚΠ

1851 Lintie o' Moray 30 While Meggie took charge o' the cairt an' the beast, An' himsel', being active, aye managed the rest.

1907 J. M. Synge Playboy of Western World ii. 27 Let me stretch out on the settle, Pegeen Mike; and himself can lie by the hearth.

1948 D. G. Waring Not Quite so Black 88 ‘Captain,’ she hissed, in her usual stage whisper. ‘Himself is back for dinner the day!’

1970 R. Adam Stalk to Hill xi. 161 ‘Is himself still up,’ I asked.

2007 R. Thomas Constance 14 How's Himself this morning, by the way?

b. = him pron. 1.

ΚΠ

1884 Crofters' Comm. Evid. I. 237 I am not aware that there is any one paying rent unless to himself.

1909 W. Eleroy Curtis One Irish Summer 264 ‘We're waiting for himself to come home to dinner,’ was the remark of a good wife, when I inquired for her husband.

1991 D. Gabaldon Outlander 68 Now, ye've just time for a wee bite, then I must take you to himself.

2008 P. Taylor Irish Country Village 21 Mrs. Brown says she's stopped the bleeding, so I've put them in the surgery to wait for himself to come back.

II. Reflexive uses.Occasionally used in relation to a singular noun or pronoun of undetermined gender. Cf. he pron. 2b.

7. As indirect object or as the object of a preposition.In Old English (and early Middle English) also representing the reflexive dative of the neuter hit self itself pron. (cf. quot. OE²).For established uses with particular prepositions, such as by himself, see under the first element.

ΚΠ

OE Ælfric Homily (Vitell. C.v) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1967) I. 324 Se mann..se ðe..forsyhð þa forgyfenesse ðæs soðfæstan Gastes, and him sylfum swa belycð þone liflican weg.

OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) iii. 24 Gif his rice on him sylfum [L. in se] bið todæled, hu mæg hit standan?

lOE tr. R. d'Escures Sermo in Festis Sancte Marie Virginis in R. D.-N. Warner Early Eng. Homilies (1917) 138 God sylf on hire innoðe timbrede him sylfen mænnisc lichame.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3274 He gann þennkenn off himm sellf.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 16000 He from him-selue taken him sende.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1338 God him ðor bi him-seluen swor.

c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 60 God is al riȝtfulnes in himseluen.

1534 Bible (Tyndale rev. Joye) Luke xv. 17 Then he came to him selfe and sayde [etc.].

1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. ix. sig. Lii Euery man for hym selfe, and god for vs all.

1651 J. Rocket Christian Subj. (1658) xi. 123 He likewise assumes to himselfe the power of Dijudication in all causes.

1670 C. Cotton tr. G. Girard Hist. Life Duke of Espernon i. iv. 189 Giving himself a vacation from the hardships of War.

1700 S. L. tr. C. Frick Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 10 If he designs to have it to himself again.

?1795 H. Macneill Scotland's Scaith 15 Will..Had some battles wi' himsell.

1809–10 S. T. Coleridge Friend (1865) 48 Charlemagne..created for himself the means of which he availed himself.

1894 Nation 16 Aug. 116/2 The tenant either scamps the life out of himself and family, or crops the land to death.

1933 A. W. Barton Text Bk. Heat i. 4 A patient can easily give himself a ‘temperature’ in this way.

1963 N. Coward Diary 10 Feb. (2000) 528 DeGaulle has made a pig of himself.

1988 L. Ellmann Sweet Desserts 133 He bought himself a two-disc computer.

2007 Sight & Sound Mar. 28/3 Soderbergh gave himself a couple of rules.

8. As direct object, alone or with complementary adjective, noun phrase, or infinitive clause.In quot. OE with a verb that takes a dative object.

ΚΠ

OE Seven Sleepers (Julius) (1994) 48 He..earhlice eode into porte, and bearh him sylfum swiðe georne.

a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 75 (MED) Ne na Mon nah him solue wernen.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 47 Dauid..for ȝet him seoluen.

a1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 82 Him-self he gaf for þe in pris, to buge þe blis.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 48 (MED) Man may him-zelue sle.

1389 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 46 Ȝif eny..ne [may] for elde oþer mischief of feblenesse help hym-self.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 1608 (MED) Quen he to pin him-selfen did For his choslinges on rod-tre.

a1450 N. Love Mirror Blessed Life (Yale) f. 66 Makynge hym selfen god.

a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 79 Iudas..ȝede anon, and hongyd hymselfe.

a1525 ( Coventry Leet Bk. (1907) I. 49 The Crofte, þat strechith hym-selffe vnto Blake Orchard.

1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias vii. 17 b Perswaded the Captaine generall, not to trouble himselfe with the want of the other Pilot.

1605 London Prodigall i. i The sea..borrows of all the small currents in the world to increase himself.

1635 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Donzella Desterrada 22 He could hardly..beleeve himselfe; opening therefore his eyes better.

1651 J. Ellistone tr. J. Böhme Signatura Rerum 68 Mars..thinketh himself to be Master in the House.

1703 W. Burkitt Expos. Notes New Test. Mark xii. 34 Every man may, yea, ought to love himself.

1744 S. Johnson Acct. Life R. Savage 182 He appeared to think himself..dispensed from all Necessity of providing for himself.

1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility III. vii. 133 He offered himself as the messenger.

1841 W. Sewell Introd. Dialogues Plato 377 Every one of us, young or old, man or woman, fool or wise, thinks himself able to say something, which may catch the public eye.

1908 E. M. Forster Room with View xix. 303 He has misbehaved himself from the first.

1967 T. Wilder Eighth Day ii. 130 He did not permit himself to be aware of hunger.

2011 New Yorker 25 Apr. 65/3 Two years ago..he declared himself the founder of a new movement.

B. n.

A person capable of being referred to as himself. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [noun] > friend > second self or kindred spirit

another myself1526

alter ego1537

another I1539

self1557

second self1586

alter idema1618

himself1622

twin soul1868

1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 89 Your King, whom he desires to make another Himselfe.

1816 M. Keating Trav. (1817) I. 320 Neither did he mix with the crowd of populace: indeed he had much the appearance of being a himself, at least to the aggregation about him.

1901 K. P. Wormeley tr. Marquis d'Argenson Jrnl. & Mem. II. xii. 344 The king..feels himself safe with none but this coterie; they are other himselfs.

2005 ‘R. Hell’ Godlike 81 I'd enjoy talking them out of all their little gods in exchange for the one big God I'd bring. Of course, God is three Himselves, but it's not the same thing.

Derivatives

† himselfward n. Obsolete the direction or part of himself; chiefly in to himselfward: with regard to himself.

ΚΠ

?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) ii. pr. vi. l. 1381 A mouse..þat chalenged[e] to hymself ward ryȝt and power ouer alle oþer myse.

1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke xxii. f. clxix^v He would suffre the death of the crosse, not for any necessitie at all to himself warde, but onely for the loue of redemyng mankynde.

1593 R. Harvey Philadelphus 71 [He] brought the peoples goodwill into such a wheele, and so turned it to himselfeward, that he slew Asclepiodate.

1634 J. Gore Way to be Content 16 Such as a mans conscience is to God-ward, such is his contentment to himselfe-ward.

1726 J. Hall Some Remarks Lett. W. Walker 41 He had left the Controversy with a better Face to himselfward, if he had omitted [etc.].

1892 S. H. O'Grady tr. Silva Gadelica II. 47 [The three things most pleasing to God are] love to Himselfward, giving of copious alms, and the maintenance of peace.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	himself
释义	himselfpron.n. Brit. /hɪmˈsɛlf/, U.S. /hɪmˈsɛlf/ Inflections: Plural (in branch B.) (rare) himselves, himselfs. Forms: (Word division in Old and Middle English examples frequently reflects editorial choices of modern editors of texts, rather than the practice of the manuscripts.) α. Old English him selfa (weak declension), Old English him seolfa (weak declension), Old English him silfa (weak declension), Old English him silue (dative, rare), Old English him sylfa (weak declension), Old English himsylfa (weak declension), Old English him syluon (dative, rare), Old English him syluum (dative, rare), Old English (early Middle English south-western and south-west midlands) him seolf, Old English (rare) Middle English–1600s hym self, Old English (rare)–early Middle English him seluum (dative), Old English–early Middle English himsylf, Old English–Middle English him silf, Old English–Middle English him sylf, Old English (rare)–Middle English hymsylf, Old English (rare)–Middle English hym sylf, Old English–1600s him self, Old English– himself, late Old English (early Middle English south-western and south-west midlands) himseolf, early Middle English hem sulf (east midlands), early Middle English himm sellf ( Ormulum), early Middle English himm sellfenn ( Ormulum, inflected form), early Middle English him sellf, early Middle English him selþ (transmission error), early Middle English him selu, early Middle English him-selua, early Middle English him seluan (in copy of Old English charter), early Middle English him-seluan, early Middle English him seluein (perhaps transmission error), early Middle English him-seolfe (south-western), early Middle English him-seolfen (south-west midlands), early Middle English him seolfen (west midlands), early Middle English him-seolfne (south-west midlands, perhaps transmission error), early Middle English him-seoluan (south-west midlands), early Middle English him-seolue (south-western and south-west midlands), early Middle English him seolue (south-western and south-west midlands), early Middle English him-seoluen (south-west midlands), early Middle English him seoluen (chiefly south-west midlands), early Middle English him silven, early Middle English him solf (south-west midlands), early Middle English him solue (south-west midlands), early Middle English him soluen (south-west midlands), early Middle English him suelf (south-west midlands), early Middle English himsulf (south-western and south-west midlands), early Middle English him sulfen (south-west midlands), early Middle English him sulfne (south-west midlands), early Middle English him-sulue (south-western), early Middle English himsuluen (south-west midlands), early Middle English himsylfe, early Middle English him sylfe, Old English (rare)–early Middle English him sylfne (inflected form), early Middle English him syluen, early Middle English hm solf (south-west midlands, transmission error), early Middle English hym seolf (south-west midlands), early Middle English hymseolue (south-west midlands), early Middle English hym-seolue (south-west midlands), early Middle English hym seolue (south-west midlands), early Middle English hym syfe (transmission error), early Middle English im self, early Middle English ym self, Middle English him seelf, Middle English himselfen, Middle English him-selfen, Middle English him selfen, Middle English himselff, Middle English him-selff, Middle English himselffe, Middle English him-selffe, Middle English him selffe, Middle English him-selfi (transmission error), Middle English himselue, Middle English him-selue, Middle English him selue, Middle English himseluen, Middle English him-seluen, Middle English him seluen, Middle English him seluin, Middle English himseluun (north-west midlands), Middle English him seluyn, Middle English him-selve, Middle English him selve, Middle English himselven, Middle English himselvyn, Middle English him-selwe, Middle English him-selwen, Middle English him-seolf (south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English himsilf, Middle English him-silf, Middle English himsilfe, Middle English him-silfe, Middle English him silfe, Middle English him-silue, Middle English him silue, Middle English him-siluen, Middle English him silve, Middle English him-sulf (south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English him sulf (south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English him sulue (south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English him suluen (south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English himsylff, Middle English himzelf (south-eastern), Middle English him-zelf (south-eastern), Middle English himzelue (south-eastern), Middle English him-zelue (south-eastern), Middle English him zelue (south-eastern), Middle English him-zelve (south-eastern), Middle English hin self (south-west midlands), Middle English hymeself, Middle English hyme-self, Middle English hyme self, Middle English hymeselfe, Middle English hyme-selfe, Middle English hyme-selfene, Middle English hyme-selffe, Middle English hymme selfe, Middle English hym seelf, Middle English hym-selfen, Middle English hym selfen, Middle English hym-selfene, Middle English hym-selff, Middle English hym-selffe, Middle English hym selffe, Middle English hym-selfon (in a late copy), Middle English hym sellfe, Middle English hymselue, Middle English hym-selue, Middle English hymseluen, Middle English hym-seluen, Middle English hym seluen, Middle English hym seluon (in a late copy), Middle English hym seluyn, Middle English hymselve, Middle English hym-selve, Middle English hym selve, Middle English hymselven, Middle English hym selven, Middle English hym-selvene, Middle English hym selvyn, Middle English hym selwe, Middle English hymseoluen, Middle English hym sijlf, Middle English hymsilf, Middle English hym-silf, Middle English hym silf, Middle English hymsilfe, Middle English hym-silfe, Middle English hymsilff, Middle English hym silff, Middle English hymsilffe, Middle English hym-silffe, Middle English hym silffe, Middle English hym siluen, Middle English hym-silve, Middle English hymsulf (south-western), Middle English hym sulf (south-western), Middle English hym sulue (south-western), Middle English hym-sylf, Middle English hymsylfe, Middle English hym-sylfe, Middle English hym sylfe, Middle English hymsylff, Middle English hym-sylff, Middle English hym sylff, Middle English hym sylue, Middle English im sulf (south-western), Middle English 1600s him-self, Middle English–1500s him selff, Middle English–1500s hym-self, Middle English–1500s hym-selfe, Middle English–1500s hymselff, Middle English–1500s hym selff, Middle English–1500s hymselffe, Middle English–1500s hym selue, Middle English–1500s hym silfe, Middle English–1600s himselfe, Middle English–1600s him-selfe, Middle English–1600s him selfe, Middle English–1600s himselve, Middle English–1600s hymself, Middle English–1600s hymselfe, Middle English–1600s hym selfe, late Middle English hemself, late Middle English hem selfe, late Middle English hemselff, late Middle English hymselef, late Middle English hym-selph, late Middle English hym selph, late Middle English hym selphe, late Middle English hym selvel (transmission error), late Middle English hynself, 1500s hem self, 1500s hymsellff, 1500s hym sellff, 1500s hym seylf, 1500s ym-seylff, 1600s hime sealf, 1800s– imself (regional and nonstandard), 1800s– 'imself (regional and nonstandard); Scottish pre-1700 hem selfe, pre-1700 hime self, pre-1700 himeselff, pre-1700 hime selff, pre-1700 hime selyf, pre-1700 him-self, pre-1700 him self, pre-1700 himselfe, pre-1700 him-selfe, pre-1700 him selfe, pre-1700 himselff, pre-1700 him-selff, pre-1700 him selff, pre-1700 him selfin, pre-1700 him selfyn, pre-1700 him sellf, pre-1700 himsellfe, pre-1700 himsellff, pre-1700 him sellff, pre-1700 himsellffe, pre-1700 himselu, pre-1700 himselue, pre-1700 him selue, pre-1700 him seluen, pre-1700 him seluin, pre-1700 himselve, pre-1700 him selve, pre-1700 him selven, pre-1700 him-selvin, pre-1700 him-selwyn, pre-1700 him selwyn, pre-1700 hymeself, pre-1700 hyme-self, pre-1700 hyme self, pre-1700 hymeselfe, pre-1700 hyme-selfe, pre-1700 hymeselff, pre-1700 hyme selff, pre-1700 hymeselfine, pre-1700 hymself, pre-1700 hym-self, pre-1700 hym self, pre-1700 hymselfe, pre-1700 hym-selfe, pre-1700 hym selfe, pre-1700 hymselff, pre-1700 hym-selff, pre-1700 hym selff, pre-1700 hym selffe, pre-1700 hym selue, pre-1700 hym-seluen, pre-1700 hym selvyn, pre-1700 hym-selvyne, pre-1700 hym-selwine, pre-1700 hym-selwyn, pre-1700 hym selwyn, pre-1700 1700s– himself, 2000s– umself. β. early Middle English him sulne (south-west midlands, perhaps transmission error), Middle English him selen (northern, perhaps transmission error), 1600s him sen; English regional 1800s– himsen. γ. Middle English him sele (northern, perhaps transmission error), 1600s him zell, 1600s hym sell; English regional 1800s himsel', 1800s– himsel, 1800s– imsel, 1900s– himsell; U.S. regional 1800s– himsel', 1900s– himsel; Scottish pre-1700 him sell, pre-1700 1700s– himsel, pre-1700 1700s– himsell, 1700s– himsel', 1800s 'imsel', 1800s 'imsell, 1800s– 'imsel, 1900s– himsael (Orkney), 1900s– imsel, 1900s– umsel, 1900s– 'umsel'; Irish English 1800s himzil (Wexford), 1900s– himsel (northern). Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: him pron., self pron. Etymology: < him pron. + self pron., originally the dative form corresponding to hē self heself pron. and hit self itself pron. Old English him self , etc. (see α. forms) originally represents an inflected form (dative) of hē self heself pron. and hit self itself pron. There are two distinct constructions: (i) in which self is inflected in agreement with the dative of the personal pronoun (compare e.g. quots. eOE at sense A. 2, OE¹ at sense A. 7); and (ii) in which self is in the nominative in agreement with the subject of the sentence, with the personal pronoun him representing a kind of reflexive or ethical dative (compare early quots. at sense A. 1); compare further B. Mitchell Old Eng. Syntax (1985) §§487–91 and see discussion at self pron. In Old English hē self also had a regular inflected accusative form hine selfne in emphatic and reflexive use as direct object and after prepositions (compare discussion at sense A. 2). This survives into early Middle English, and occasionally is also attested in such forms as late Old English hine sylfen , early Middle English hine seluen , etc., reflecting weak inflection in Old English and probably also the influence of the dative. Very occasionally hine also occurs in combination with nominative or uninflected self (compare quots. eOE, lOE). Compare:eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) vii. §1. 54 Gif he losige, & hine mon eft gefo, forgielde he hine self a be his weregilde.OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxvii. 42 Oþere he gehælde & hyne sylfne [L. ipsum] gehælan ne mæg.OE Ælfric Homily (Cambr. Ii.4.6) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1967) I. 364 Forði hi ne bædon on þæs Hælendes naman, for ðan þe hi hæfdon hine sylfne mid heom.lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1086 Walawa þet ænig man sceolde modigan swa, hine sylf upp ahebban & ofer ealle men tellan.c1175 ( Ælfric Homily (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine Old Eng. Homilies (1993) 42 Godes laȝe wæs isett, þurh hine sylfne iwriten, on twam stænene weaxbræden.c1175 ( Homily (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine Old Eng. Homilies (1993) 141 Hwilon he sceawæð hine seluen on engles hywe, and bið þeahweðere awariȝed gast.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 25 Þe swica..bi-swikeð hine seolfe on-ende.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 934 Forð com Corineus & fusde hine sulfne [c1300 Otho him-seolue]. It is uncertain whether the following isolated use of early Middle English hin-seolf in Laȝamon's Brut represents hine self or himself pron., although the latter seems more likely (compare sense A. 3a):c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 15032 He for-bað [read for-bad] þan kingen; kine-helm to nimene; a þat hin-seolf comen; and setten hine an heore hafden.Middle English hin self at α. forms reflects an isolated 14th-cent. attestation and probably shows delabialization of m (before s ) in him- (if it is not simply a scribal error) rather than a late reflex of hine self . Likewise, the very late (1494) form hynself at α. forms. In sense A. 6 apparently partly after Irish eisean and Scottish Gaelic esan, emphatic forms of the third person singular masculine pronoun, and partly after Irish é féin (he) himself ( < é , third person singular masculine pronoun + féin self, commonly used to emphasize a pronoun or noun: see Sinn Fein n.) and the similarly-formed Scottish Gaelic e fhèin. Specific uses of Irish é féin and Scottish Gaelic e fhèin to denote the man of the house or the husband may be after English. A. pron. The emphatic and reflexive pronoun corresponding to he, him, and (formerly) it.Used to denote a male person or animal, or something personified as male, or (in early use) a thing grammatically masculine or neuter; later also sometimes to denote a person or animal regardless of gender. I. Emphatic uses. 1. In apposition to a personal noun (as subject, predicate, or object), or to the subjective pronoun he, or (occasionally) the objective pronoun him: that particular male person or animal, etc.; the male person in question personally.When used for simple emphasis of the subject himself is now generally placed immediately after the pronoun, noun, or name; in other positions there is often an explicit or implicit contrast with the idea of any other person performing the action.Occasionally used in relation to a singular noun or pronoun of undetermined gender. Cf. he pron. 2b. ΚΠ eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xv. 91 Hit oft anlycð & geopenað ða scylde ðe se him self [L. ipse] ær nyste se hie ðurhteah. OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) ix. 256 He wæs mid wisdome afylled, for ðan þe he is him sylf wisdom. OE tr. Gospel of Nicodemus (Cambr.) xxvii. §5. 243 Pilatus þa on hys domerne hymsylf awrat ealle þa þyng. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 195 He wollde ben himm sellf..i waterr fullhtnedd. a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 5 (MED) Godd seið him self ðat hie sculen bien ineðerede. c1300 Life & Martyrdom Thomas Becket (Harl. 2277) (1845) l. 274 And of the beste him silve he at, swithe scars and lute. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7728 He was riche him sulf. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 5169 Marchus Claudius..was a man of such riote Riht as the king himselve was. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 173 Iesu crist him selue [Fairf. him-self, Gött. him seluen] ches til him apostels tuelue. c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 50 He him-selue wold neuer ber keye of non office, ne no tresor. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 222 The kynge hymself pulled oute the truncheoune of the speare. a1535 T. More Hist. Edward V (1641) 5 A proud appetite of the duke himselfe. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward V f. viij^v Which ground was sanctifyed by Sainct Peter him selfe. 1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) ii. 74 They will make Heraclitus himselfe laugh at it. 1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. i. 73 A third cannot bee matcht, vnlesse the deuill himselfe turne Iewe. View more context for this quotation 1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine i. vii. 17 It is answered, that seven was the compleat and solemne number, whereon God himself emphatically insists. 1693 J. Dennis Miscellanies Pref. sig. b Mr. Dryden himself in his own Satyrs has sometimes made use of double and treble Rhymes. 1717 Censor 2 Feb. A supine indolent Animal, that looks upon the World as if he were no Part of it himself. 1730 Compl. Coll. State-trials (ed. 2) VI. 299/2 I know nothing more of Mr. Layer, but what I had from him himself. 1741 J. Ozell tr. P. de B. de Brantôme Spanish Rhodomontades 25 Old Nick himself was never painted half so ugly. 1776 Trial Maha Rajah Nundocomar for Forgery 36/2 Did your brother write his letters himself, or you for him? 1824 Ann. Reg. 212* He..proposed..to lend money to the miner, that he himself might pay the workmen. 1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 1st Ser. 50 Not Wolsey himself could find more magnificent pleas. 1903 F. W. H. Myers Human Personality I. 139 Some self-suggestive machinery by which the patient cures his toothache himself. 1920 E. E. Dale Tales of Tepee 100 They found his home..but though they searched long, they could never find the man himself. 1947 K. A. Porter Let. 19 Mar. (1990) vi. 334 Who could be more suavely and obliquely cynical than St. Leger himself? 1994 L. de Bernières Capt. Corelli's Mandolin xxxi. 206 He wondered why no one had ever set an opera in modern Greece... Perhaps he should write one himself. 2006 New Yorker 23 Oct. 91/2 He himself is a firecracker of a dancer. 2. Used instead of the objective pronoun him as the direct or indirect object of a verb, or as the object of a preposition.Originally dative. In later use also with verbs that in Old English originally took direct objects in the accusative and with prepositions that originally took complements in the accusative, in both cases replacing hine selfne (see etymological note). ΚΠ eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) v. xiii. 129 Antonius..forlet Octauianuses swostor, & him selfum [L. Caesari] onbead gewin & openne feondscipe. OE Crist I 213 Sceolde witedom in him sylfum beon soðe gefylled. c1175 ( Ælfric Homily: St. Vincent's Day (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine Old Eng. Homilies (1993) 114 Swa hwa swa deð his Drihtnes willan on eniȝe wisan, he þenæð him sylfum. c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 46 Þe forme, ȝef a mon is god, preiseð him biuoren him seolf [a1250 Nero himsulf] & makeð him inohreaðe ȝet betere þen he beo. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13935 Arður ȝæf him [sc. Kay] þene tun..and sette þer þene nome after him-seoluen..Kain he hit hehte. c1300 St. Brendan (Laud) 603 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 236 So we wollez a-wreken us, for on him-sulf [c1300 Harley upe him silve; a1325 Corpus Cambr. up him sulue] it schal go. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2272 Þat oþer [went]..to warne þe prouost..hou he hade seye..þe tvo white beris & bad him-self ȝerne to come. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 2834 To with-stand him a stonde þi strenthe ware to littill. For godis prouidence..Sauys & sustenes him-selfe & socurs him euire. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Macc. viii. 7 They toke him self alyue. 1600 R. Churche tr. M. Fumée Hist. Troubles Hungarie ii. 40 [He] desired his Captaines, not to forsake him during these turbulent broyles, in the midst whereof they saw himselfe deeply plunged. 1628 W. Struther Christian Observ. & Resol. lvii. 145 If they [sc. God's gifts] lead vs to him, and make vs seeke him aboue them all, then wee haue himselfe with his gifts. 1715 T. Parnell Ess. Homer 47 in A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I Thus much..we gather from himself concerning the most ancient State of Poetry in Greece. 1754 D. Hume Hist. Great Brit. I. v. 97 The King..reflected that, however the world might pardon this sally of youth in the Prince, they would never forgive himself. 1822 Nic-Nac 30 Nov. 12/1 He was told it was for himself. 1835 Jrnl. Royal Geogr. Soc. 5 103 The collection of these documents..gave himself and posterity the erroneous idea that the ancient colony was situated on the east coast. 1885 H. M. Clifford Select. Bk. of Ruth 82 The Philistines realised the greatness of their victory over Saul, when they found himself and his three sons amongst the slain. 1904 B. Capes Extraordinary Confessions Diana Please (ed. 2) xxviii. 277 ‘My love!’ he said. She was in like pass to himself. 1957 H. E. Bates Death of Huntsman 63 She regarded himself, the girl, the dancing, and even the dress, with the same unmitigated calm. 2004 T. Ali Beggar at Gate viii. 68 A Hindu..would never eat with a Muslim like himself. 3. Used instead of the subjective pronoun he or him. a. As subject. Now chiefly archaic and regional.In Old English usually he self or he selfa (see heself pron.). Quot. OE apparently shows omission of the subjective pronoun after a verb in the subjunctive, comparable to the construction with imperative at thyself pron. 1. ΚΠ OE Laws of Cnut (Nero) ii. xxx. §7. 334 Nime him v getrywe to & beo him sylf syxta. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 121 (MED) Mild-heorte he is togenes heom on two wise, alse him self seið on þe holi godspel. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 271 Mani was þe gode bodi þat him self slou a day. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 4059 Him-self [a1400 Vesp. heself] was on þe felde be-side. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Hab. i. 13 A more iust man than hymsilf [c1384 E.V. than hym]. ?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 31 Now god graunt..þat ȝe may come to þat blysse þat hym self is inne. 1479 in Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1839) I. 42/2 Gife him self hapynnis to decesse. 1563 T. Sackville in W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Buckingham sig. T i^v But loe the dread wherewyth him selfe was strest. 1591 G. Fletcher Of Russe Common Wealth f. 43^v To set an other in his saddle, that might haue ridde away with his horse, while himselfe walked by on foote. 1619 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1849) (modernized text) II. 120 Sir Edward Villiers told him himself was the man. 1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. xxvi. 120 Himself, whilest his dinner was making ready, went to see his artillery mounted upon the carriage. 1704 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion III. xiv. 401 The Ship in which himself was..that sprung a plank in the Indies. 1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World I. 10 An Englishman is taught to..acknowledge no other master than the laws which himself has contributed to enact. 1846 M. Lal Life Amir Dost Mohammed Khan I. iii. 91 His younger brothers..were prosperous while himself was poor. 1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in Enoch Arden, etc. 82 The dagger which himself Gave Edith. 1948 P. Kavanagh Tarry Flynn (1965) ii. 42 Every evening himself and Eusebius went down the road. 1957 P. White Voss viii. 180 His two guests got between their blankets, where they were, while himself was gone out on last errands. 2005 D. McWilliams Pope's Children (2008) 85 A nudist island..where himself and other like-minded elderly Germans revel in getting their kits off. b. As predicate (now chiefly Irish English), and after as or than. ΚΠ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 3 Kings ii. 32 He sloowȝ two riȝtwijs men betere þan hym selue. c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 1656 (MED) Þere watz no mon upon molde of myȝt as hymselven. 1485 Croniclis of Englonde (St. Albans) v. sig. niij By that they wisten well all that it was him self. ?1534 tr. Erasmus Epystell Forbedynge Eatynge of Flesshe sig. H.vi^v He..which iugeth one that is better than him self. 1592 H. Arthington Seduction 27 Saying, wo be to that man by whom the son of man is betraied: telling Iudas when he asked, that it was himselfe. a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. iii. 22 I am the dogge: no, the dogge is himselfe, and I am the dogge: oh, the dogge is me, and I am my selfe. 1653 S. Fisher Παιδοβαπτιζοντες Παιδιζοντες: Baby-baptism 408 A people, that are as abhorrent of such abominations as himself. 1705 T. Hearne Ductor Historicus (ed. 2) I. iii. 264 His Companions were altogether as impious and extravagant as himself. 1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Against Apion ii, in tr. Josephus Genuine Wks. 1007 Then does Apion load the ass, that is himself; and lays on him a burden of fooleries, and lies. 1814 Lady Morgan O'Donnel III. vi. 162 Has he been a friend to me, Madam? Oh then it's himself that has, God bless him! 1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. iv. iv. 196 He will not be Thou, but must and will be Himself. 1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. II. ii. 29 Carrying a great bass-viol bigger than himself. 1900 R. Bruce Benbonuna (1904) xii. 171 An' faith 'tis himself is fond of Miss Mary, so he is. 1929 M. de la Roche Whiteoaks xxiv. 326 Looking back at this period, he seemed not to have been himself at all, but a strange translation into a being of another world. 1967 R. Rendell Wolf to Slaughter (1970) xi. 132 If he had known Wexford to be almost as uxorious a husband as himself, he might have believed. 2008 A. Wheatle Dirty South 69 He..always helped those less fortunate than himself. †4. Adverbially: by himself. In later use only in himself alone. Obsolete. ΚΠ c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1293 He to wode wende, to wundre him-seoluan [c1300 Otho to wondri him-seolue], to huntien after deoren. a1300 Passion our Lord 114 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 40 He com to þe Gywes, þer heo to-gadere were, Al hym seolf one; nedde he nenne yuere. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 840 He woll to thee appiere Be nyhtes time himself alone. a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) l. 1152 And rode hym forth..This Polymyte..Hym-silf allone on a Ryal Stede. 1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. sig. E.v He wil fight with your grace for the hole quarell .xx. to xx .x. to .x. or els hymselfe alone with your grace man to man. 1564 H. Middlemore tr. Let. Frenche Gentilwoman sig. D.iiij My L. the Prince..had retired himselfe alone into his chamber, & was gone to bed. 1606 J. Marston Parasitaster iv. sig. G^v He would play the foole himselfe alone without any riuall. 1678 G. Hickes Ravillac Redivivus 27 The Person acting incurrs the danger himself alone. 1720 J. Johnson Coll. Eccl. Laws Church of Eng. I. sig. C6 It seems unaccountable, that Augustin himself should go..so far as Arles, to be consecrated himself alone. 1771 H. Farmer Diss. Miracles i. 50 Whether God works the miracles himself alone, or whether he enables and commissions others to work them. 5. In predicative use: his true, natural, or normal self. Esp. in to be himself: to be in his normal state of body and mind; to behave normally (sometimes spec. with the implication of freedom from constraint).Richard's himself again: see Richard n. Phrases. ΚΠ 1595 H. Roberts Pheander sig. Q4^v Such desperate humors assaileth him, that he is not himselfe. 1682 Loyal Feast (single sheet) Tony will never be himself again. 1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 83 For one man to see another so much himself, as to sigh his Griefs, and groan his Pains, so sing his Joys [etc.]. 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 27. ⁋2 When he is himself, and unruffled with Intemperance. 1798 R. S. New Monk II. vii. 175 Her behaviour added confidence to Joshua, and, by degrees, he was himself once more. 1858 J. G. Adams Christian Victor 207 Man cannot truly be himself,..cannot fully exercise and employ the powers of his whole nature, unless it [sc. faith in immortality] be in him. 1889 M. G. Van Rensselaer Six Portraits 100 Correggio is never so completely himself as when he paints little children and half-grown boys. 1939 H. Miller Tropic of Capricorn 103 Every one is so utterly, confoundedly not himself. 1965 R. C. Hodgson et al. Executive Role Constellation xiv. 392 The individual tends to work most closely with those with whom he..can ‘be himself’ with minimal fear of misunderstanding, disdain, and other more organizational repercussions. 2004 H. Holt Silent Killer (2005) xii. 169 He's not himself, not by a long chalk. 6. Originally and chiefly Irish English and Scottish. Sometimes with capital initial. With reference to a particular man, esp. a head of a household or other figure of authority, whose identity is readily understood in a particular context without prior reference or explanation by the speaker. a. = he pron. 1a(a). ΚΠ 1851 Lintie o' Moray 30 While Meggie took charge o' the cairt an' the beast, An' himsel', being active, aye managed the rest. 1907 J. M. Synge Playboy of Western World ii. 27 Let me stretch out on the settle, Pegeen Mike; and himself can lie by the hearth. 1948 D. G. Waring Not Quite so Black 88 ‘Captain,’ she hissed, in her usual stage whisper. ‘Himself is back for dinner the day!’ 1970 R. Adam Stalk to Hill xi. 161 ‘Is himself still up,’ I asked. 2007 R. Thomas Constance 14 How's Himself this morning, by the way? b. = him pron. 1. ΚΠ 1884 Crofters' Comm. Evid. I. 237 I am not aware that there is any one paying rent unless to himself. 1909 W. Eleroy Curtis One Irish Summer 264 ‘We're waiting for himself to come home to dinner,’ was the remark of a good wife, when I inquired for her husband. 1991 D. Gabaldon Outlander 68 Now, ye've just time for a wee bite, then I must take you to himself. 2008 P. Taylor Irish Country Village 21 Mrs. Brown says she's stopped the bleeding, so I've put them in the surgery to wait for himself to come back. II. Reflexive uses.Occasionally used in relation to a singular noun or pronoun of undetermined gender. Cf. he pron. 2b. 7. As indirect object or as the object of a preposition.In Old English (and early Middle English) also representing the reflexive dative of the neuter hit self itself pron. (cf. quot. OE²).For established uses with particular prepositions, such as by himself, see under the first element. ΚΠ OE Ælfric Homily (Vitell. C.v) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1967) I. 324 Se mann..se ðe..forsyhð þa forgyfenesse ðæs soðfæstan Gastes, and him sylfum swa belycð þone liflican weg. OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) iii. 24 Gif his rice on him sylfum [L. in se] bið todæled, hu mæg hit standan? lOE tr. R. d'Escures Sermo in Festis Sancte Marie Virginis in R. D.-N. Warner Early Eng. Homilies (1917) 138 God sylf on hire innoðe timbrede him sylfen mænnisc lichame. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3274 He gann þennkenn off himm sellf. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 16000 He from him-selue taken him sende. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1338 God him ðor bi him-seluen swor. c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 60 God is al riȝtfulnes in himseluen. 1534 Bible (Tyndale rev. Joye) Luke xv. 17 Then he came to him selfe and sayde [etc.]. 1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. ix. sig. Lii Euery man for hym selfe, and god for vs all. 1651 J. Rocket Christian Subj. (1658) xi. 123 He likewise assumes to himselfe the power of Dijudication in all causes. 1670 C. Cotton tr. G. Girard Hist. Life Duke of Espernon i. iv. 189 Giving himself a vacation from the hardships of War. 1700 S. L. tr. C. Frick Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 10 If he designs to have it to himself again. ?1795 H. Macneill Scotland's Scaith 15 Will..Had some battles wi' himsell. 1809–10 S. T. Coleridge Friend (1865) 48 Charlemagne..created for himself the means of which he availed himself. 1894 Nation 16 Aug. 116/2 The tenant either scamps the life out of himself and family, or crops the land to death. 1933 A. W. Barton Text Bk. Heat i. 4 A patient can easily give himself a ‘temperature’ in this way. 1963 N. Coward Diary 10 Feb. (2000) 528 DeGaulle has made a pig of himself. 1988 L. Ellmann Sweet Desserts 133 He bought himself a two-disc computer. 2007 Sight & Sound Mar. 28/3 Soderbergh gave himself a couple of rules. 8. As direct object, alone or with complementary adjective, noun phrase, or infinitive clause.In quot. OE with a verb that takes a dative object. ΚΠ OE Seven Sleepers (Julius) (1994) 48 He..earhlice eode into porte, and bearh him sylfum swiðe georne. a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 75 (MED) Ne na Mon nah him solue wernen. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 47 Dauid..for ȝet him seoluen. a1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 82 Him-self he gaf for þe in pris, to buge þe blis. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 48 (MED) Man may him-zelue sle. 1389 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 46 Ȝif eny..ne [may] for elde oþer mischief of feblenesse help hym-self. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 1608 (MED) Quen he to pin him-selfen did For his choslinges on rod-tre. a1450 N. Love Mirror Blessed Life (Yale) f. 66 Makynge hym selfen god. a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 79 Iudas..ȝede anon, and hongyd hymselfe. a1525 ( Coventry Leet Bk. (1907) I. 49 The Crofte, þat strechith hym-selffe vnto Blake Orchard. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias vii. 17 b Perswaded the Captaine generall, not to trouble himselfe with the want of the other Pilot. 1605 London Prodigall i. i The sea..borrows of all the small currents in the world to increase himself. 1635 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Donzella Desterrada 22 He could hardly..beleeve himselfe; opening therefore his eyes better. 1651 J. Ellistone tr. J. Böhme Signatura Rerum 68 Mars..thinketh himself to be Master in the House. 1703 W. Burkitt Expos. Notes New Test. Mark xii. 34 Every man may, yea, ought to love himself. 1744 S. Johnson Acct. Life R. Savage 182 He appeared to think himself..dispensed from all Necessity of providing for himself. 1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility III. vii. 133 He offered himself as the messenger. View more context for this quotation 1841 W. Sewell Introd. Dialogues Plato 377 Every one of us, young or old, man or woman, fool or wise, thinks himself able to say something, which may catch the public eye. 1908 E. M. Forster Room with View xix. 303 He has misbehaved himself from the first. 1967 T. Wilder Eighth Day ii. 130 He did not permit himself to be aware of hunger. 2011 New Yorker 25 Apr. 65/3 Two years ago..he declared himself the founder of a new movement. B. n. A person capable of being referred to as himself. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [noun] > friend > second self or kindred spirit another myself1526 alter ego1537 another I1539 self1557 second self1586 alter idema1618 himself1622 twin soul1868 1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 89 Your King, whom he desires to make another Himselfe. 1816 M. Keating Trav. (1817) I. 320 Neither did he mix with the crowd of populace: indeed he had much the appearance of being a himself, at least to the aggregation about him. 1901 K. P. Wormeley tr. Marquis d'Argenson Jrnl. & Mem. II. xii. 344 The king..feels himself safe with none but this coterie; they are other himselfs. 2005 ‘R. Hell’ Godlike 81 I'd enjoy talking them out of all their little gods in exchange for the one big God I'd bring. Of course, God is three Himselves, but it's not the same thing. Derivatives † himselfward n. Obsolete the direction or part of himself; chiefly in to himselfward: with regard to himself. ΚΠ ?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) ii. pr. vi. l. 1381 A mouse..þat chalenged[e] to hymself ward ryȝt and power ouer alle oþer myse. 1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke xxii. f. clxix^v He would suffre the death of the crosse, not for any necessitie at all to himself warde, but onely for the loue of redemyng mankynde. 1593 R. Harvey Philadelphus 71 [He] brought the peoples goodwill into such a wheele, and so turned it to himselfeward, that he slew Asclepiodate. 1634 J. Gore Way to be Content 16 Such as a mans conscience is to God-ward, such is his contentment to himselfe-ward. 1726 J. Hall Some Remarks Lett. W. Walker 41 He had left the Controversy with a better Face to himselfward, if he had omitted [etc.]. 1892 S. H. O'Grady tr. Silva Gadelica II. 47 [The three things most pleasing to God are] love to Himselfward, giving of copious alms, and the maintenance of peace. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < pron.n.eOE
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