ourselves

the word 'ourselves' is a compound formed in middle english from the possessive pronoun 'our' and the pluralized noun 'self'. the old english ancestor 'self' is derived from proto-germanic selbaz, meaning 'self, same', which is traced back to proto-indo-European sel-, conveying the idea of 'of oneself'. the construction follows a common pattern in english for creating reflexive and emphatic pronouns, combining a possessive form with 'self/selves' to literally denote 'our own selves'. this evolution from a concept of sameness to one of individual or collective identity and agency illustrates the grammaticalization of a core concept into a specific functional word class.

Structure: our (possessive) + selves (plural self) our: from old english 'ūre', the genitive (possessive) form of 'wē' (we). functions as a possessive determiner/pronoun. selves: from old english 'self', meaning 'same, own', with the plural suffix '-s'. functions as a noun meaning 'individual identity'.