Self
Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zelf and German selbe . Early use was emphatic, expressing the sense ‘(I) myself’, ‘(he) himself’, etc. The verb dates from the early 20th century.
wiktionary
From Middle English self, silf, sulf, from Old English self, seolf, sylf, from Proto-Germanic *selbaz. Cognates include Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌱𐌰( silba), German selbst and Dutch zelf.
etymonline
self (pron.)
Old English self, seolf, sylf "one's own person, -self; own, same," from Proto-Germanic *selbaz (source also of Old Norse sjalfr, Old Frisian self, Dutch zelf, Old High German selb, German selb, selbst, Gothic silba), Proto-Germanic *selbaz "self," from PIE *sel-bho-, suffixed form of root *s(w)e-, pronoun of the third person and reflexive (referring back to the subject of a sentence), also used in forms denoting the speaker's social group, "(we our-)selves" (see idiom).
Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth. [attributed to Alan Watts, who did often use the image in this sense in his talks, if not in these exact words]
Its use in compounds to form reflexive pronouns grew out of independent use in Old English. As a noun from early 14c.
