selfsame C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities Also spelled self-same US /ˈsɛlfˌseɪm/ UK /ˈsɛlfˌseɪm/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj exactly the same; identical That selfsame stranger reappeared at the door the very next night. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · exactly the same; identical identicalsameveryexact ↔ Opposites differentdistinctother Word family Derived forms selfsameness Related forms selfsame Etymology AI details Late Middle English, an emphatic compound of 'self' (Old English 'self') + 'same' (from Old Norse 'samr', 'same'). self Old English samr Old Norse View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # selfsame **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈsɛlfˌseɪm/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈsɛlfˌseɪm/ ## Meanings 1. exactly the same; identical ## Examples - That selfsame stranger reappeared at the door the very next night. ## Synonyms - identical - same - very - exact ## Antonyms - different - distinct - other ## Derived Forms - selfsameness ## Related Forms - self - same ## Roots and Affixes - Root: self - Root: samr ## Etymology Late Middle English, an emphatic compound of 'self' (Old English 'self') + 'same' (from Old Norse 'samr', 'same'). ## AI Etymology Selfsame is first described as late Middle English, an emphatic compound of 'self' (Old English 'self') + 'same' (from Old Norse 'samr', 'same'). The historical chain includes Old English self and Old Norse samr. Older glosses in the chain include "self", "same", and "samr", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, selfsame is best read as compound and borrowing, yielding an English adjective shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as an adjective, with the sense "exactly the same; identical". English derivatives include selfsameness; related forms include self and same. The result is an English adjective whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning. ## Topics - Describing Qualities markdown