itse

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *ice or *icce, from Proto-Uralic *iće ~ *iśe. Cognate to Estonian ise.

Originally, itse meant the “conscious mind”, one part of the two-sided soul, while the other part being henki (“breath”) — therefore, itsensä tappaminen (“killing oneself”), was literally “killing one's conscious mind” by that perception. Nowadays, that usage is quite rare and the noun itse is used in psychology to mean ego. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈit̪se̞ˣ]
• Hyphenation: it‧se

Pronoun

itse

1. oneself; used to emphasize the person of the head word

   Sinun täytyy tehdä se itse.

   You must do it yourself.

   Itse pomo tuli paikalle.

   The boss himself/herself came there.

2. by -self, on/by one's own.

   Vietin koko päivän itsekseni.

   I spent the whole day by myself.

3. oneself; used reflexively with a possessive suffix

   Sinun täytyy luottaa itseesi.

   You must trust yourself.

   Anna kertoi Riitan yrittäneen tappaa itsensä.

   Anna told that Riitta had tried to kill herself.

4. (as modifier in compound words) auto-, self-; see also separate entry for itse-

   Levitä itseruskettavaa voidetta iholle.

   Spread some self-tanning lotion on the skin.

Noun

itse

1. (psychology) self, ego

Anagrams

• esti, etsi, seit, ties