self-containedadj.
/ˌsɛlfkənˈteɪnd/, U.S. /ˌsɛlfkənˈteɪnd/ 1.
a. gen. Independent of external factors or relations; having all that is needed in itself; complete in itself.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > non-relation > [adjective] > independent
substantivec1400
independing1604
self-contained1605
independent1614
self-centred1661
self-centring1695
self-existent1782
self-containing1826
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > independence > [adjective] > self-sufficient
suffisanta1340
sufficient for (to) oneself1382
substantive1543
self-suffisant1589
self-sufficient1596
self-sustaining1598
self-contained1605
self-subsisting1608
self-supporting1632
self-dependent1642
self-full1642
self-subsistent1646
self-sufficing1647
self-relying1648
self-depending1669
independent1670
self-sustained1675
unbenefitable1688
self-sufficed1709
self-supported1736
self-containing1826
self-reliant1834
autarkic1883
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. vii. 254 Our owne Bodies self-contayned motions.
1839 P. J. Bailey Festus 360 The self-contained Perfection.
1860 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters V. 84 The pine rises in serene resistance, self-contained.
1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 75 The ship is a flying town, self-contained and independent of outside aid.
1905 G. K. Chesterton Heretics 181 When London was smaller, and the parts of London more self-contained and parochial.
1952 Scrutiny 18 197 Women in Love is wholly self-contained, and, for all the carry-over of names of characters, has no organic connexion with The Rainbow.
2007 Gramophone Feb. 35/2 It's a mysterious succession of blocks of sound, self-contained little bursts of wind-writing punctuated by silences.
2015 Church Times 1 May 32/5 Four ‘battle buses’..provide a neat self-contained structure for a quick-fire series of gags that leave no cliché unexploited.
b. spec. Of a machine or device: complete in itself, requiring no additional equipment for its operation.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > types of machine generally > [adjective] > other types
stout1702
multiplying1767
reciprocating1768
locomotive1800
centripetal1835
self-contained1839
uniplane1843
high-speed1844
powered1847
flexible1859
undergrounda1884
chip-proof1901
portable1913
batch1940
closed-loop1958
interactive1967
1839–47 [implied in: Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. III. 348/2 All the advantage of Mr. Holland's microscope, except its self-containedness. (at self-containedness at Derivatives)].
1869 W. J. M. Rankine Cycl. Machine & Hand-tools Pl.K 3 It [sc. a shearing-machine] is self-contained, is easily fixed, requires..but moderate skill to work it.
1893 J. A. Hodges Elem. Photogr. (1907) 133 A self-contained mechanical device for exposing the plates automatically.
1958 New Scientist 17 Apr. 31/3 The bathyscaph is an untethered and self-contained craft..capable of diving to the deep sea bed and rising again by its own devices.
2005 W. Ward Last Seaman 568 On the hatch was a Schermuly self-contained rocket apparatus.
2. British (originally Scottish). Of living accommodation: having no rooms shared with another household or set of occupants, and usually having a private entrance.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > a house > types of house > [adjective] > house of specific shape or style
back-to-back1626
detached1706
self-contained1767
ground-floored1824
semi-detached1859
bungaloid1927
bi-level1929
one-up, one-down1933
blind back1937
terraced1958
tri-level1960
split entry1967
two-up two-down1973
1767 Caledonian Mercury 1 June To be Let until Whitsunday 1768, and entered on immediately, A Self-contained House, pleasantly situated.
1778 D. S. Erskine Disc. on Soc. for Investig. Hist. Scotl. 27 A house of L. 750, or L. 800 value, upon a neat, and as we Scotsmen choose of late to call it, a self-contained plan.
1827 W. Scott Chron. Canongate 1st Ser. I. v. 96 It is a house ‘within itself’, or according to a newer phraseology in advertisements, self-contained.
1861 A. Beresford-Hope Eng. Cathedral of 19th Cent. iv. 126 The Englishman has a weakness..to rent a self-contained house rather than an apartment.
1910 Bradshaw's Railway Guide Apr. 1174 The only Hotel in the Town having self-contained Suites.
1928 E. A. Robertson Cullum xi. 206 We came back in the evening to what was practically a self-contained flat—no one else slept on that landing.
1977 Wandsworth Borough News 16 Sept. 15/1 Planning Proposals..7 Eckstein-road, Clapham Junction—conversion to form two self-contained flats.
2010 Independent 18 Oct. 18/4 Accommodation—normally self-contained and more often than not in the ritziest parts of town and country—is thrown in.
3. Of a person, his or her character, etc.: not dependent on or influenced by others; quiet and independent; reserved, restrained.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > calmness > self-possession or self-control > [adjective]
coolc1430
coldc1500
within oneself (itself, etc.)1518
cool-headed1684
present to oneself1692
possesseda1698
self-restrained1700
self-collecteda1711
cool (cold) as a cucumbera1732
self-possessing1732
self-regulating1755
cool-brained1765
self-possessed1766
self-restraining1777
self-disciplined?1791
self-controlling1796
self-repressed1814
self-controlled1822
self-contained1838
self-repressing1849
unimpulsive1856
posé1858
downbeat1953
cucumber-cool1955
supercool1965
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > restrained or moderate behaviour > [adjective]
methelyeOE
i-meteOE
methefulOE
attempre1297
measurablec1330
temprea1340
temperatec1380
temperantc1384
attemperatec1386
attemperelc1386
chastea1400
mannered1435
measureda1450
moderatea1450
well-measuredc1450
attempered1474
modest1548
sober1552
measurely1570
temperable1619
contemperate1647
submissive1753
managed1770
self-contained1838
inexplosive1867
1838 J. Grant Sketches London i. 16 He was everything himself: he was, to use another expression which a mathematical friend of mine is particularly partial to, ‘a self-contained personage’.
1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol i. 3 Secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 290 The vast, surging, excited, but self-contained crowd.
1907 J. Conrad Secret Agent viii. 216 She dreaded and admired the calm, self-contained character of her daughter Winnie.
1927 A. Conan Doyle Case-bk. Sherlock Holmes 195 Mr. Gibson is a very strong, self-contained man. I do not think that he would ever show his emotions on the surface.
1967 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 113 474/1 The obsessives as a group are shy, withdrawn, aloof, emotionally cold, self-contained, restrained, conscientious, and are quick to see dangers.
2009 I. Thomson Dead Yard ii. 23 PJ's housekeeper..was a wise, self-contained woman in her early fifties.
Derivatives
self-conˈtainedly adv.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > calmness > self-possession or self-control > [adverb]
coldly1526
coolly1580
cool1673
cold blood1711
self-possessedly1854
self-containedly1866
1866 L. H. Grindon Phenomena Plant Life iv. 44 They show, as it were, with such a grand independence, so self-containedly, that Infinite Wisdom [etc.].
1948 Agric. Hist. 1 Apr. 65/2 Investigators in agricultural history..have concentrated too narrowly and self-containedly upon their area.
2002 J. Methuen-Campbell Denton Welch (2004) 43 He glanced at the faces of people going about their daily business. Denton tried to fathom their thoughts as they walked self-containedly along the pavements.
self-conˈtainedness n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > calmness > self-possession or self-control > [noun]
repressiona1413
governailc1425
willc1480
self-rule1532
coldness1548
stay1556
presentness of mind1598
coolness1607
cold blooda1609
temper1611
self-discipline1612
retention?1615
presence of mind?1624
self-governance1630
retentiveness1641
self-command1651
self-mastery1652
self-control1653
self-direction1653
self-restraint1656
self-possession1665
possessednessa1698
self-regulation1698
possession1703
retenue1747
sang-froid1750
self-collection1761
render1768
self-collectedness1805
self-repression1821
self-containedness1835
unimpulsiveness1860
cool-headedness1881
sophrosyne1889
cool1964
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > [noun] > condition of being complete in itself
self-containedness1835
1835 Foreign Q. Rev. Oct. 25 We pity the narrow self-containedness of that man's mind who measures, by degrees of the understanding, the admirations due to such a genius as that of Schiller.
1839–47 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. III. 348/2 All the advantage of Mr. Holland's microscope, except its self-containedness.
1919 Q. Jrnl. Univ. N. Dakota 19 245 Already they have gone far in the direction of realizing their dream of American industrial self-containedness.
2003 M. Halligan Point (2004) i. 4 She fell in love with her smooth brown skin, her youth, her self-containedness, her unencumberedness.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, January 2018; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.1605