herself

[her-self] /hərˈsɛlf/
pronoun
1.
an emphatic appositive of her or she:
She herself wrote the letter.
2.
a reflexive form of her:
She supports herself.
3.
(used in absolute constructions):
Herself still only a child, she had to take care of her four younger brothers and sisters.
4.
(used as the object of a preposition or as the direct or indirect object of a verb):
She gave herself a facial massage. He asked her for a picture of herself.
5.
(used in comparisons after as or than):
She found out that the others were even more nervous than herself.
6.
her normal or customary self:
After a few weeks of rest, she will be herself again.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English hire-selfe, Old English hire self. See her, self
Usage note
See myself.
Examples from the web for herself
  • Before long, she had made a name for herself-literally-taking the first two letters of her three given names.
  • He sprints over to the hawk as she thrashes, thoroughly trussing herself, and carefully extracts her.
  • Still, she was not ready to declare herself a singer.
  • She turned around and found herself staring into the eyes of a mountain lion.
  • She struggles to free herself, but every movement drags her deeper.
  • Nova sang softly to herself and then someone brought out a guitar.
  • Never does she give herself over to a vocal so thoroughly that she becomes it.
  • So it is herself she is thinking of, not of any children.
  • Sally, in contrast, had never done any serious climbing and did not consider herself a mountaineer.
  • In a panic, she managed to knock out the crocodile and free herself.
British Dictionary definitions for herself

herself

/həˈsɛlf/
pronoun
1.
  1. the reflexive form of she or her
  2. (intensifier): the queen herself signed the letter
2.
(preceded by a copula) her normal or usual self: she looks herself again after the operation
3.
(Irish & Scot) the wife or woman of the house: is herself at home?
Word Origin and History for herself

Old English hire self; see her (objective case) + self. Originally dative, but since 14c. often treated as genitive, hence her own sweet self, etc. Also see himself.