HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

self-

pref.

1. Oneself; itself: self-control.

2. Automatic; automatically: self-loading.

[Middle English, from Old English, from self, self; see SELF.]

self

(sĕlf)

n. pl. selves (sĕlvz)

1. The total, essential, or particular being of a person; the individual: "An actor's instrument is the self" (Joan Juliet Buck).

2. The essential qualities distinguishing one person from another; individuality: "He would walk a little first along the southern walls, shed his European self, fully enter this world" (Howard Kaplan).

3. One's consciousness of one's own being or identity; the ego: "For some of us, the self's natural doubts are given in mesmerizing amplification by way of critics' negative assessments of our writing" (Joyce Carol Oates).

4. One's own interests, welfare, or advantage: thinking of self alone.

5. Immunology That which the immune system identifies as belonging to the body: tissues no longer recognized as self.

pron.

Myself, yourself, himself, or herself: a living wage for self and family.

adj.

1. Of the same character throughout.

2. Of the same material as the article with which it is used: a dress with a self belt.

3. Obsolete Same or identical.

intr.v. selfed, self·ing, selfs

To fertilize or pollinate itself. Used of hermaphroditic organisms.

[Middle English, selfsame, from Old English; see s(w)e- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

American Heritage Dictionary Products

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

THE USAGE PANEL

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

American Heritage Dictionary Products