Etymograph

English

himself

Himself comes from Middle English hymself, and goes back to Old English him selfum.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150him selfum1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hymself1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1603himself1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English himself
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “Yet it is that himselfe had been liberally gratified…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150him selfumWiktionary, English himself
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hymselfWiktionary, English himself
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1603himselfWiktionary, English himself. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “Yet it is that himselfe had been liberally gratified…”

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Today it means

pron Him; the male object of a verb or preposition that also appears as the subject

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “himself”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old English him selfum / himself