Selves

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The plural form refers to multiple individuals or groups in relation to their own identity or existence
2. It signifies the various identities individuals embody in different contexts or situations
3. The term indicates the different personas or identities an individual may adopt across various circumstances or environments

Etymology: The plural "selves" is simply the plural of "self", and "self" traces back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "one's own", which passed into Proto-Germanic as "selbaz". That root gave Old English "self" and "seolf", and the same ancestor appears across the Germanic family: German "selbst", Dutch "zelf", Swedish "själv", and Gothic "silba". The pattern is striking in its consistency, since nearly every Germanic language builds its word for "self" or "same" on this one root. In Middle English the word appeared in several spellings, including "salve", "silf", and "self", before the form settled into the modern one. Its plural took the old Germanic pattern of "-ves" that also turns "wife" into "wives" and "leaf" into "leaves", which is why the plural differs in its consonant from the singular.

Synonyms: identities, selves