herself
herself Lexical Profile
herself Game Scores & Validity
• pronoun
Used as the object of a verb or preposition to refer to a female person or animal previously mentioned as the subject of the clause.
"She taught herself how to play the classical guitar by watching instructional videos."
Used for emphasis to state that a particular female person, and no one else, performed an action or is being referred to.
"The director herself greeted the guests at the entrance of the theater."
In her normal, customary, or healthy state of body or mind (typically used after a linking verb).
"After a full night of rest, she finally felt like herself again."
Word Nuance & Usage
In standard grammar, 'herself' should not be used as a substitute for the subject pronoun 'she' or the object pronoun 'her' in compound structures unless the subject of the clause is also that same female person (e.g., use 'Please contact John or her' rather than 'John or herself').
• Rhymes for herself
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Old English from the combination of 'hire' (the genitive and dative singular of the feminine pronoun 'heo', meaning 'she') and 'self', originally written as two separate words before merging in Middle English.