selfsame
/ˈsɛlfseɪm/
"selfsame" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“selfsame” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Chiefly preceded by the: precisely the same; the very same; the same not only in being similar but in being identical.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | selfsame |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈsɛlfseɪm/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “selfsame” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for selfsame is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɛlfseɪm/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Chiefly preceded by the: precisely the same; the very same; the same not only in being similar but in being identical.".
selfsame has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *swé 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-Ind… The correct English form is selfsame, spelled S-E-L-F-S-A-M-E.
Definition
- 1Chiefly preceded by the: precisely the same; the very same; the same not only in being similar but in being identical.
Etymology
PIE word *swé 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. Cognates * Danish selvsamme (“identical, selfsame”) * Old High German selbsama (“identical, selfsame”)
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “selfsame”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-E-L-F-S-A-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɛlfseɪm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.