English Online Dictionary. What means myself? What does myself mean?
English
Alternative forms
- meself (non-standard)
- myselfe (obsolete)
Etymology
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
- (stressed) IPA(key): /maɪˈsɛlf/
- (unstressed) IPA(key): /məˈsɛlf/
- Hyphenation: my‧self
- Rhymes: -ɛlf
Pronoun
myself (reflexive case of I)
- (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.]
- 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.]
- In my normal state of body or mind.
- Me (as the object of a verb or preposition). [from 10th c.]
- (archaic) I (as the subject of a verb). [from 14th c.]
- (India, Pakistan, nonstandard) my name is...
Usage notes
- 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
- (reflexive pronoun): me
Related terms
- myselves
- I'll see myself out
Translations
See also
Middle English
Alternative forms
- myselve
Etymology
From Old English mē self, mē seolf, equivalent to my + self.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /miːˈsɛlf/, /miˈsɛlf/
Pronoun
myself
- myself
Descendants
- English: myself
- Scots: mysel
- Yola: meezil
References
- “mī-self, pron.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.