herself

• Herself (honorific)

From Middle English. Equivalent to her +‎ -self.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /hɜːˈsɛlf/, /əsɛlf/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /hɝˈsɛlf/, /ɚsɛlf/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: her‧self
• Rhymes: -ɛlf

herself (the third person singular, feminine, personal pronoun, the reflexive form of she, masculine himself, neuter itself, gender-neutral singular themself or themselves, plural themselves)

1. (reflexive pronoun) Her; the female object of a verb or preposition that also appears as the subject.

   She injured herself.

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything. In a moment she had dropped to the level of a casual labourer.

   • 2023 May 29, Madeline Holcombe, “Lizzo is teaching us about body neutrality. Here is what it means and how to get there”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     Lizzo, who is known for messages of self-love and wider acceptance, has recently said as much as she shared that she is encouraging a stance of body neutrality for herself and others.

2. (emphatic) She; an intensifier of the female subject or object, often used to indicate the directness or exclusiveness of that person .

   She was injured herself.

3. (Ireland) The subject or non-reflexive object of a predicate; she (used of upper-class ladies, or sarcastically, of women who imagine themselves to be more important than others)

   What's herself up to this time?

   Have you seen herself yet this morning?

• Flesher, flesher