Itself
/ɪtˈsɛlf/noun
A reflexive pronoun used to refer back to a thing, animal, or idea previously mentioned.
Did you know?“Itself” comes from Old English *hit self*, literally “it self,” showing how Germanic languages built reflexive meaning by attaching a self-word to a pronoun rather than inventing a special mystical form.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*s(w)e-
“reflexive pronoun root meaning “self, आफ्न own””
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*sēlwaz / *selbaz
““self, same, individual””
Old English
English
hit self
““it self,” used to emphasize or reflexively refer back to a thing”
Middle English
English
it selfe
“a separated reflexive form, often still written as two words”
Modern English
English
itself
“the reflexive form of “it””