ego

[ee-goh, eg-oh] /ˈi goʊ, ˈɛg oʊ/
noun, plural egos.
1.
the “I” or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects of its thought.
2.
Psychoanalysis. the part of the psychic apparatus that experiences and reacts to the outside world and thus mediates between the primitive drives of the id and the demands of the social and physical environment.
3.
egotism; conceit; self-importance:
Her ego becomes more unbearable each day.
4.
self-esteem or self-image; feelings:
Your criticism wounded his ego.
5.
(often initial capital letter) Philosophy.
  1. the enduring and conscious element that knows experience.
  2. Scholasticism. the complete person comprising both body and soul.
6.
Ethnology. a person who serves as the central reference point in the study of organizational and kinship relationships.
Origin
1780-90; < Latin: I; psychoanalytic term is translation of German (das) Ich (the) I
Examples from the web for ego
  • West admits that his ego has reached giant proportions.
  • Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
  • He is a small man with a big ego.
  • He is large of ego, full of money and cranky in mien.
  • All the rest is a matter of ego feeding.
  • There was no ego involved with anyone in this movie.
  • They stroked my ego, and I swallowed the bait.
  • Coffee-table photo books can sometimes come across as ego-stroking doorstops.
  • Probably my ego needed deflating, and the deflation wasn't long in coming.
  • It's not vanity that drives me to ego-surf, as the practice is called.
British Dictionary definitions for ego

ego

/ˈiːɡəʊ; ˈɛɡəʊ/
noun (pl) egos
1.
the self of an individual person; the conscious subject
2.
(psychoanal) the conscious mind, based on perception of the environment from birth onwards: responsible for modifying the antisocial instincts of the id and itself modified by the conscience (superego)
3.
one's image of oneself; morale: to boost one's ego
4.
egotism; conceit
Word Origin
C19: from Latin: I
Word Origin and History for ego
n.

1714, as a term in metaphysics, from Latin ego "I" (cognate with Old English ic, see I). Psychoanalytic sense is from 1894; sense of "conceit" is 1891. Ego trip first recorded 1969.

In the book of Egoism it is written, Possession without obligation to the object possessed approaches felicity. [George Meredith, "The Egoist," 1879]

ego in Medicine

ego e·go (ē'gō, ěg'ō)
n.
In psychoanalytic theory, the division of the psyche that is conscious, most immediately controls thought and behavior, and mediates between the person and external reality.

ego in Culture
ego [(ee-goh)]

The “I” or self of any person (ego is Latin for “I”). In psychological terms, the ego is the part of the psyche that experiences the outside world and reacts to it, coming between the primitive drives of the id and the demands of the social environment, represented by the superego.

Note: The term ego is often used to mean personal pride and self-absorption: “Losing at chess doesn't do much for my ego.”