self-reference

noun

An act or process of referring to itself or oneself.

Similar
autoreference
OriginEnglish reference ← Middle English self- ← Old English self- →
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Meanings

nounself-reference (usually uncountable, plural self-references)

plural self-references

  1. uncountableusuallyAn act or process of referring to itself or oneself.

    Ethologists concerned with the evolution of human behaviour have stopped short of attempting to explain the further reaches of the human mind; consciousness, self-reference, the construction of identity, and intersubjective relating.

    1985, John H. Crook, The evolution of human consciousness, Oxford University Press

    Synonyms: autoreference

verbself-reference (third-person singular simple present self-references, present participle self-referencing, simple past and past participle self-referenced)

present singular third person self-references · participle present self-referencing · participle past self-referenced · past self-referenced

  1. transitiveuncommonTo reference itself or oneself.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn act or process of referring to itself or oneself.

Similar
autoreference
Also see
autologyautoreference

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*swé?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*selbʰ-
  3. Proto-Germanic*selbaz
  4. Old Englishself
  5. Old Englishself-
  6. Middle Englishself-
  7. Englishself-
  8. Englishreference
  9. Englishself-reference

From self- + reference.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan autoreferència
  • autoreferènciaact or process of referring to itself
Czech sebevztažnost, sebereference
  • sebevztažnostact or process of referring to itself
  • sebereferenceact or process of referring to itself
  • autoreferenceact or process of referring to itself
Dutch zelfreferentie
  • zelfreferentieact or process of referring to itself
Esperanto sinaludo
  • sinaludoact or process of referring to itself
Finnish itseviittaus
  • itseviittausact or process of referring to itself
French autoréférence, auto-référence
  • autoréférenceact or process of referring to itself
  • auto-référenceact or process of referring to itself
German Selbstreferenz, Selbstreferenzialität
  • Selbstreferenzact or process of referring to itself
  • Selbstreferenzialitätact or process of referring to itself
Greek αυτοαναφορά
  • αυτοαναφορά (aftoanaforá)act or process of referring to itself
Hungarian önhivatkozás
  • önhivatkozásact or process of referring to itself
Italian autoreferenza
  • autoreferenzaact or process of referring to itself
Japanese 自己言及, 自己参照
  • 自己言及 (jikogenkyū)act or process of referring to itself
  • 自己参照 (jikosanshō)act or process of referring to itself
Korean 자기 언급, 자기 참조
  • 자기 언급 (jagi eon'geup)act or process of referring to itself
  • 자기 참조 (jagi chamjo)act or process of referring to itself
Polish autoreferencja
  • autoreferencjaact or process of referring to itself
Portuguese autorreferência
  • autorreferênciaact or process of referring to itself
Russian саморефере́нция
  • саморефере́нция (samoreferéncija)act or process of referring to itself
Spanish autorreferencia
  • autorreferenciaact or process of referring to itself
Swedish självreferens
  • självreferensact or process of referring to itself
Ukrainian автореференція f самореференція
  • автореференція f самореференція (avtoreferencija)act or process of referring to itself
Cite this entry
APA

self-reference. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-reference

MLA

“self-reference.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-reference. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “self-reference,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-reference.

Source: self-reference on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.