selfsame

Meanings

Plural: selfsames

Adjective Satellite

being the exact same one; not any other:
- "saw the selfsame quotation in two newspapers"

Adj

Chiefly preceded by the: precisely the same; the very same; the same not only in being similar but in being identical.

Noun

Chiefly preceded by the: precisely the same person or thing.

Origin / 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”)

Synonyms

identical, indifferent, nondifferent, one and the same, self, selfsame, undifferent, undifferentiated, very

Antonyms

identical, other, similar

Scrabble Score: 13

selfsame is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
selfsame is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
selfsame is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

selfsame is a valid Words With Friends word