Standard Lemma guide

self-

prefix · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /sɛlf/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

prefix

Meaning 1

of, by, in or with oneself or itself

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: morpheme

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

prefix

Meaning 2

automatic

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: morpheme

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *swé? Proto-Indo-European *selbh-der. Proto-Germanic *selbaz Old English self Old English self- Middle English self- English self- From Middle English self-, silf-, seolf-, from Old English self-, sylf-, seolf-, from Proto-Germanic *selba-, from Proto-Germanic *selbaz (“self”). Cognate with Dutch zelf- (“self-”), German Low German sülvst- (“self-”), German selbst- (“self-”), Swedish själv- (“self-”), Icelandic sjálf- (“self-”). More at self.

Across languages

Translations

33 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bashkir: үҙ- (üź-) — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Catalan: auto- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Chinese Mandarin: 自相 (zìxiāng) — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Chinese Mandarin: 自己 (zìjǐ) — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Chinese Mandarin: 自 (zì) — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Czech: sebe- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Czech: své- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Finnish: itse- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • French: auto- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Galician: auto- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Georgian: თვით- (tvit-) — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Georgian: თავ- (tav-) — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • German: selbst- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • German: auto- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Greek: αυτο- (afto-) — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Greek: αυτό- (aftó-) — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Hebrew: עצמי (atzmí) — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Hungarian: ön- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Indonesian: swa- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Irish: féin- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Italian: auto- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Japanese: 自己 (jiko) — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Japanese: 自 (ji) — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Lithuanian: savi- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Malay: swa- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Māori: kiriaro — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Polish: samo- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Portuguese: auto- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Russian: само- (samo-) — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Russian: себе- (sebe-) — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Russian: авто- (avto-) — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Scottish Gaelic: fèin- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself
  • Spanish: auto- — of, by, in or with oneself or itself