seleucides

[Mod. Lat., from Lat. seleucis (gen it. seleucidis )=a kind of bird on Mount Ca ius ( Pliny ).] Ornith.: A genus of Epimachine. Bill longer than head, nearly straight, compre ed, tip emarginate; nostrils oblong, partly hidden by frontal feathers; wings moderate; tail short, composed of twelve nearly equal feathers; tarsi moderate, scutellated; outer and middle toes united at base; claws curved, acute. A single species, Seleucides alba , the Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise (q. v.). It was formerly cla ed with Epimachus. self, *selfe, *silf, a . & s . [A. S. self , seolf, sylf; cogn. with Dut. zelf ; Icel. sjálfr ; Dan. selv ; Sw. sjelf ; Goth. silba ; Ger. sel be , selbst . According to Skeat, from a Teutonic base, selba for seliba , where se is the same as the Lat.se; Skt. sva =one's own self, and lib is the same as the base of Goth. laiba = a remnant: bilaibjan to be left; hence, the original meaning of self is "left to one's self." Self was originally used as an adjective=same, as "That self mold" ( Shakesp .: Richard II ., i. 2), and was declined as a definite or indefinite adjective, as Ic self , Ic self a =I (my)self, and agreed with the pronoun to which it was added: as nom. Ic self a ; gon it. min selfes ; dat. mesilfum ; acc us.mec silfne ; thu self a thou (thy)self, he self a =he (him)self, we silfe we (our) selves, hi silfe they (them)selves, . In Old Eng. the dative of the personal pronoun was sometimes prefixed to the nominative of self , as Ic me silf I myself, thu the silf thou thy self, he him silf he himself, we us silfe , ge eów silfe , hi him silfe . In the thirteenth century the genitive was substituted for the dative of the prefixed pronouns in the first and second persons, as mi self , thi self , for me self , the self , and our self , your self , for 3614 us self, you self . From this the transition to myself, thyself was easy. Self then began to be regarded as a substantive, and the plural, selves , was formed on the analogy of nouns ending in f. In himself, themselves, itself , the old dative remains unchanged; his self , their selves , are provincialisms. With own , the po e ive pronouns his , our , your, and their may be used; as, "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree" (1 Peter ii. 24), and so in Scriptural language mine ; as, "I judge not mine own self " (1 Cor. iv. 3).] A. As adjective: *1. Same, very. "Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribed In one self place." Marlowe: Faustus , ii. 1. *2. Of or pertaining to one's self; own. "Who by self and violent hands took off her life."Shakesp.: Macbeth , v. 8. 3. As a pronominal affix or adjective, self is affixed to personal pronouns (1) to expre emphasis or distinction, and (2) when the pronouns are used reflexively. Thus, for emphasis, I myself will go, denotes not only my intention of going, but also my determination of going in person. Reflexively, he killed himself , we keep ourselves , . Himself , her self , and themselves are used in the nominative as well as in the objective case; as, "Jesus himself baptised not, but his disciples" (John iv. 2). Self (or selves ) is sometimes found separated from the pronoun; as, "to thy sweet self too cruel" ( Shakesp .: Sonnet 1), though in such cases, self may be regarded as a noun. Such phrases as Cæsar's self , Tarquin's self , are not, philologically speaking, so correct as Cæsar self, Tarquin self . B. As substantive : 1. The individual as an object to his own reflective consciousne ; a person as a distinct individual; one's individual person; the ego of metaphysicians; the man viewed by his own cognition as the subject of all his mental phenomena, the agent in his own activities, the subject of his own feelings, and the po e or of faculties and character. "But whatsoever to some men makes a man, and consequently the same individual man, wherein perhaps few are agreed, personal identity can by us be placed in nothing but consciousne (which is that alone which makes what we call self ) without involving us in great absurdities." - Locke : Human Understanding , bk. ii., ch. IMG:content-1174.png:[blocks in formation] self-admiration, s. Admiration of one's self; self-conceit.