selfsame

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
13
Words With Friends
15
Letters
8
Pronunciation
/ˈsɛlfseɪm/
See all 3 pronunciations
/ˈsɛlfseɪm/ · /ˌsɛlfˈseɪm/ · /ˈsɛlfˌseɪm/

Definition of selfsame

2 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included

adj

  1. (not-comparable)Chiefly preceded by the: precisely the same; the very same; the same not only in being similar but in being identical.
    “For both of you are Birds of ſelfe-ſame Feather.”
    “In my ſchoole dayes, vvhen I had loſt one ſhaft [i.e., arrow], / I ſhot his fellovv of the ſelfe-ſame flight / The ſelfe-ſame vvay, vvith more aduiſed vvatch / To finde the other foorth, and by aduentring both, / I oft found both. I vrge this child-hoode proofe, / Becauſe vvhat follovves, is pure innocence.”
    “He and his Horse, were of a piece. / One Spirit did inform them both, / The self-same Vigor, Fury, Wroth: […]”
    “He trod the very ſelf-ſame ground you tread, / And victory refuted all he ſaid.”
    “Mine be the strength of spirit fierce and free, / Like some broad river rushing down alone, / With the selfsame impulse wherewith he was thrown / From his loud fount upon the echoing lea:— […]”
See all 2 definitions

adj

  1. (not-comparable)Chiefly preceded by the: precisely the same; the very same; the same not only in being similar but in being identical.
    “For both of you are Birds of ſelfe-ſame Feather.”
    “In my ſchoole dayes, vvhen I had loſt one ſhaft [i.e., arrow], / I ſhot his fellovv of the ſelfe-ſame flight / The ſelfe-ſame vvay, vvith more aduiſed vvatch / To finde the other foorth, and by aduentring both, / I oft found both. I vrge this child-hoode proofe, / Becauſe vvhat follovves, is pure innocence.”
    “He and his Horse, were of a piece. / One Spirit did inform them both, / The self-same Vigor, Fury, Wroth: […]”
    “He trod the very ſelf-ſame ground you tread, / And victory refuted all he ſaid.”
    “Mine be the strength of spirit fierce and free, / Like some broad river rushing down alone, / With the selfsame impulse wherewith he was thrown / From his loud fount upon the echoing lea:— […]”

noun

  1. (archaic)Chiefly preceded by the: precisely the same person or thing.
    “I preſent vvhat here is to you, vvherein you ſhall receive but the ſelfeſame by Number and by Meaſure; vvhich, before, you had by VVeight.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

PIE word *swé From Middle English self sam, self same, selve same (“the very same, selfsame”) [and other forms], from self (“that specific (person mentioned), herself, himself, itself, themselves”, pronoun)…

See full etymology

PIE word *swé From Middle English self sam, self same, selve same (“the very same, selfsame”) [and other forms], from self (“that specific (person mentioned), herself, himself, itself, themselves”, pronoun) (from Old English self, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swé (“self”)) + sam, same (“(adjective) equal, identical; unchanging; referred to earlier, abovenamed, aforementioned; (adverb) again, repeatedly”) (from Old Norse samr (“same; agreeing, of one mind”), ultimately probably from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one, together”)). The English word is analysable as self + same. Cognates * Danish selvsamme (“identical, selfsame”) * Old High German selbsama (“identical, selfsame”)

Anagrams of selfsame

2 plays · some not in Scrabble

Best play fameless 13 points

Words you can make from selfsame

138 playable · top: FAMELESS (13 pts)

Best play fameless 13 points

7-letter words

2 words

6-letter words

8 words

5-letter words

33 words

4-letter words

52 words

3-letter words

29 words

2-letter words

13 words

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