Revised 2018
selfishadjective & noun
Factsheet
What does the word selfish mean?
There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the word selfish. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
selfish has developed meanings and uses in subjects including
How common is the word selfish?
About 6occurrences per million words in modern written English
1750 | 9.6 |
1760 | 9.3 |
1770 | 8.6 |
1780 | 8.7 |
1790 | 9.1 |
1800 | 10 |
1810 | 12 |
1820 | 14 |
1830 | 16 |
1840 | 17 |
1850 | 17 |
1860 | 16 |
1870 | 16 |
1880 | 15 |
1890 | 14 |
1900 | 13 |
1910 | 12 |
1920 | 11 |
1930 | 9.7 |
1940 | 8.3 |
1950 | 7.4 |
1960 | 6.5 |
1970 | 6.0 |
1980 | 5.6 |
1990 | 5.8 |
2000 | 6.2 |
2010 | 6.5 |
How is the word selfish pronounced?
British English
/ˈsɛlfɪʃ/
SEL-fish
U.S. English
/ˈsɛlfɪʃ/
SEL-fish
Where does the word selfish come from?
Earliest known use
early 1600s
The earliest known use of the word selfish is in the early 1600s.
OED's earliest evidence for selfish is from 1628, in the writing of William Struther, Church of Scotland minister.
selfish is formed within English, by derivation.
Etymons: self n., ‑ish suffix1.
Nearby entries
- self-interessed, adj.1645–1707
- self-interest, n.1595–
- self-interested, adj.1648–
- self-interesting, adj.1673–
- self-intoxicated, adj.1847–
- self-intruder, n.a1653–1897
- self-involution, n.1800–
- self-involved, adj.1785–
- self-involvement, n.1821–
- self-ionization, n.1903–
- selfish, adj. & n.1628–
- selfishly, adv.1645–
- selfishness, n.1628–
- selfism, n.1731–
- self-isolate, v.1925–
- self-isolated, adj.1837–
- self-isolating, adj.1841–
- self-isolation, n.1834–
- selfist, n.1649–
- self-judge, v.1645–
- self-judged, adj.1641–
Etymology
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Meaning & use
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Pronunciation
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Forms
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Frequency
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Compounds & derived words
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Entry history for selfish, adj. & n.
selfish, adj. & n. was revised in January 2018.
selfish, adj. & n. was last modified in July 2023.
oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:
- further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
- new senses, phrases, and quotations.
Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into selfish, adj. & n. in July 2023.
Earlier versions of this entry were published in:
OED First Edition (1911)
OED Second Edition (1989)
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Factsheet for selfish, adj. & n.
Browse entry
Nearby entries
- self-interessed, adj.1645–1707
- self-interest, n.1595–
- self-interested, adj.1648–
- self-interesting, adj.1673–
- self-intoxicated, adj.1847–
- self-intruder, n.a1653–1897
- self-involution, n.1800–
- self-involved, adj.1785–
- self-involvement, n.1821–
- self-ionization, n.1903–
- selfish, adj. & n.1628–
- selfishly, adv.1645–
- selfishness, n.1628–
- selfism, n.1731–
- self-isolate, v.1925–
- self-isolated, adj.1837–
- self-isolating, adj.1841–
- self-isolation, n.1834–
- selfist, n.1649–
- self-judge, v.1645–
- self-judged, adj.1641–