noun pl. selves

1. the identity, character, or essential qualities of any person or thing
2. one's own person as distinct from all others
3. one's own welfare, interest, or advantage; selfishness obsessed with self

Etymology: ME < OE, prob. < IE *selo- < base *se-, refl. pron., orig. separate, apart (> L sibi, se) + *(o)lo-, pron. suffix: basic sense “itself, by itself”

pronoun

adjective

1. being uniform or the same throughout
2. of the same kind, nature, color, material, etc. as the rest a self lining, self trim