himself
- 1Used as the object of a verb or preposition when it refers back to a male subject within the same clause.
He convinced himself that everything would work out.
The senator excused himself from the vote to avoid a conflict of interest.
UsageHe hurt himself means the same man; he hurt him means another person.
Note
Its antecedent need not be the grammatical subject. In the American novelist Winston Churchill's The Celebrity (published December 1897, dated 1898), "Sunning himself on the board steps" points to Mr. Cooke, who is doing the sunning, not to the narrator.
- 2Used to emphasize the male referent, often to stress that he and no one else performs or undergoes the action.
The author himself admitted the early chapters were weak.
She was surprised that the director himself answered the phone.
UsageGoes right after the noun or at the end of the clause: the author himself, he fixed it himself.
Note
Here the pronoun is an echo rather than an object, and it can be lifted out without breaking the sentence. It may sit right beside its noun, as in the King James Bible of 1611, "the Lord himselfe shal giue you a signe," or move to the end of the clause.
- 3A male person's ordinary self in health, spirits or conduct, used chiefly after be, feel or seem.
He's been quiet and short-tempered all week; he just isn't himself.
Two weeks after the operation, Dad says he finally feels like himself again.
UsageMost often in the negative, he isn't himself, or with again after an illness: he feels like himself again.
Note
An idiom the whole reflexive set shares: I'm not myself today, she seems more herself, you'll soon be yourself again. His old self says the same thing more warmly, usually after back to: he's back to his old self.
Less common meanings
- 4Used as subject or object for the important man of a household or group, such as a husband or the boss; also used mockingly of a self-important man.
Mrs. Doyle sent the new maid upstairs to wake himself at eight sharp.
Oh, himself has finally decided to join us for dinner.
UsageUsed instead of the man's name, often as the subject: himself wants his tea. Tone of voice shows whether it is respectful or mocking.
Note
A household title more than a pronoun: "Has himself come down to breakfast yet?" asks after a man so familiar to everyone present that no name is needed. It shares the grammar of the Irish subject use but adds a social edge. Said respectfully, it marks the gentleman of the house. Said dryly, it deflates a man who thinks himself grander than he is.
- 5Used as the subject or non-reflexive object of a predicate to mean he himself; archaic except in Irish English.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of himself apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
Old English "him selfum" became Middle English "hymself." It amounts to "him" combined with "-self."