YOURSELF


Meaning of YOURSELF in English

 ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷ pronoun

Etymology: Middle English, fr your (II) + self, n.

1.

a. : that identical one that is you : the self that belongs to you : the self that is yours — used at first only in reference to a person of high social status or a person not well known to the speaker

as many, worthy lady, to yourself — Shakespeare

but later without this limitation — used reflexively as object of a preposition or direct or indirect object of a verb

why should you be so cruel to yourself — John Milton

be careful or you might hurt yourself

how much time do you allow yourself for a shave

or for emphasis in apposition especially with you or ye or after an imperative verb

an ice pick which you yourself had bought — Erle Stanley Gardner

you said the same thing yourself

I'd like to see you do any better yourself

carry the packages yourself

or for emphasis instead of nonreflexive you as object of a preposition or direct or indirect object of a verb

a method developed … by men like yourself — Bernard Bloch

asked me to give your wife and yourself his best wishes

or for emphasis instead of you or instead of you yourself as predicate nominative

the only one I am worried about is yourself

or in comparisons after than or as

nobody is better qualified for the job than yourself

or as part of a compound subject

we hope your husband and yourself can be there

or in archaic or substandard use as only subject of a verb either in the third person singular form or in the same form that would agree with you as subject

I'm all right; how's yourself

yourself are tall — Robert Browning

or in absolute constructions

yourself a cautious man, you expect caution in others

b. : your normal, healthy, or sane condition

when you came to yourself again after the accident

: your normal, healthy, or sane self

you are not yourself today

2. : oneself

it is more restful to ride in a car that someone else is driving than to drive a car yourself

the registrant testified that, in his belief, the Bible does believe in defending yourself but not with weapons — J.J.Smith

the process of coming to yourself after being under an anesthetic

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.