Where does “Self” come from?
Self comes from Middle English self, from Old English self, from Proto-Indo-European selbʰ-, ultimately from the reflexive pronoun root s(w)e-.
Ancestry of “Self”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | salve | Alternative form of sauf |
| 2 | Old English | sealf | salve |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | salbu | salve, ointment |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | salbō | salve, ointment |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | solp-éh₂ | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | selp- | fat, oil |
Words derived from “Self”