ownself

O1W4N1S1E1L1F4

pronoun

(One's) self; used with a preceding possessive adjective to form a pronominal phrase.

First used 14th c.Scrabble 13
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Meanings

pronoun
  1. CaribbeanSinglishSouthern USespeciallyregional(One's) self; used with a preceding possessive adjective to form a pronominal phrase.First known use 14th c.

    Did you paint this your ownself?

    2016, John Chan, Singlish Notebook
    2 more examples

    You may be ashamed of your ownself, to disturb People at this Time of Night.

    1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC

    “Tea Cake ain't been no boy for some time. He's round thirty his ownself.”

    1937, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Harper, published 2013, page 3
adverbownself (not comparable)
  1. Singlishnot comparableOn one's own; on one's own initiative; single-handedly.

    You ownself go and ask her if can or not—if cannot, then bo pian lor.

    Go and ask her yourself. If she says no, then so be it.

Origin

From own + self.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

ownself. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ownself

MLA

“ownself.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ownself. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ownself,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ownself.

Source: ownself on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.