selfsame
self·same/ˈsɛlfˌseɪm/adjective
selfsame is spelled S-E-L-F-S-A-M-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables (self·same). It appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 105,204th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, selfsame means “Chiefly preceded by the: precisely the same; the very same; the same not only in being similar but in being identical” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in selfsame?
| Letters | 8: S-E-L-F-S-A-M-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: self·same |
| In writing | about once in every 12 million words; the 105,204th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is selfsame?
Selfsame appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 105,204th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce selfsame?
- UK /ˈsɛlfseɪm/
- UK /ˌsɛlfˈseɪm/
- US /ˈsɛlfˌseɪm/
Selfsame has 2 syllables, split self·same in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-selfsame.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of selfsame
- self same
- self-same
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does selfsame mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Chiefly preceded by the: precisely the same; the very same; the same not only in being similar but in being identical.
noun
- 1
archaicChiefly preceded by the: precisely the same person or thing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Selfsame in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense precisely the same:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does selfsame come from?
From Middle English self sam, self same, selve same (“the very same, selfsame”) [and other forms], from self (“that specific (person mentioned), herself, himself, itself, themselves”, pronoun) (from Old English self, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swé (“self”)) + sam, same (“(adjective) equal, identical; unchanging; referred to earlier, abovenamed, aforementioned; (adverb) again, repeatedly”) (from Old Norse samr (“same; agreeing, of one mind”), ultimately probably from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one, together”)). The English word is analysable as self + same.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).