Meself

Part of speech: pronoun

Definitions

1. Myself, used in nonstandard or dialectal English, especially in Irish English and some other varieties
2. A colloquial or informal variant of myself, commonly found in regional speech and casual conversation
3. Myself as pronounced or written in dialectal speech, particularly in Irish and working-class English registers

Etymology: "Meself" is a colloquial form of "myself," built from "me" and "-self," the same reflexive ending that gives "himself," "herself," and "themselves." The word is found in Middle English, where "me" and "self" were already combined, and the form has persisted in speech far longer than in formal writing. The "-self" ending itself was a word in its own right, meaning "same" or "very," which is why it attaches to pronouns to show that the subject and object are the same person. In "meself," the "me" is the old object form, so the combination reflects a pattern English speakers used for centuries before settling on "myself" as the standard reflexive.