Oneself

How to spell oneself

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce oneself

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does oneself mean?

1. pronounThe reflexive form of the impersonal pronoun 'one', referring back to a person in general.

Oneself in a sentence

• It is wise to insure oneself against unexpected medical costs.

• After a long flight, one needs time to orient oneself to the new schedule.

Where does oneself come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a compound of the ordinary English words 'one' and 'self', both of which trace back to Old English. 'One' descends from the Old English an, meaning 'a single thing', from the same Germanic source that gave German ein and Latin unus, while 'self' comes from the Old English self or seolf, meaning the same person or thing referred to. The pattern of joining a pronoun to '-self' to form a reflexive (as in myself, yourself, himself) was well established in Middle English, and 'oneself' followed the same model once 'one' began to be used as an impersonal pronoun meaning 'a person in general'. It was written as two words ('one's self') for a long time before settling into the single closed form we now use, which is exactly why writers are still tempted to split it or insert an apostrophe. Today it is the standard reflexive partner of the impersonal 'one', as in 'one should look after oneself'.

How the word is built

• one (the numeral/indefinite pronoun)
• -self (reflexive suffix from Old English self)