Where does “thyself” come from?
Thyself comes from Middle English thy-selfe, from Old English þīnes silfes, a reflexive construction combining the genitive pronoun þīnes and silfes meaning self.
thyself (English): yourself
Definitions
- yourself
Ancestry of “thyself”, step by step
thyself traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English þy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | þy | Alternative form of þi; Alternative form of þe;... |
| 2 | Middle English | self | same, aforementioned; very; own |
| 3 | Old English | self | self; oneself, personally |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *selb | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | selbaz | self |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | selbʰ- | one's own |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | s(w)e- | separate, apart; separate; apart; oneself; one's... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | swé | self |
via Middle English thy-selfe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | thy-selfe | — |
| 2 | Old English | þīnes silfes | — |
via Old English [[þīnes]] [[selfes]]
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | [[þīnes]] [[selfes]] | — |