themselves
English meaning: Themselves
Definition
The reflexive case of they, the third-person plural personal pronoun. The group of people, animals or objects previously mentioned, as the object of a verb or following a preposition (also used for emphasis).
Example
“They are going to try climbing Mount Everest themselves.”
Another example: “The children made breakfast all by themselves this morning.”
Usage — When, Where & How
A reflexive and emphatic third-person plural pronoun used in standard English; increasingly used as a singular pronoun for one person of unspecified or non-binary gender ('the candidate prepared themselves').
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
A Middle English compound of 'them' (from Old Norse 'theim') and 'selves', plural of 'self', replacing the older 'themself' around the 15th century.
Related Words
- they
- them
- their
- theirs
- oneself
- himself
Common Collocations
- by themselves
- among themselves
- for themselves
- themselves alone
- to themselves
Word Forms
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Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B