Etymology

ego

E1G2O1

Today it means: The self, especially with a sense of self-importance. Full definition →

Latin ego ← Proto-Italic *egō ← Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*éǵh₂
  2. Proto-Italic*egō
  3. Latinego
  4. English todayego

Borrowed from Latin ego (“I”). Chosen by Freud’s translator as a translation of his use of German Ich as a noun for this concept from the pronoun ich (“I”). Doublet of I and Ich.

Words from the same roots

Latinego all →

egoismegotismegoistego-

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.