ego

See also: Ego, égo, égő, ego-, -ego, and его

English

Etymology

From Latin ego (“I”). Chosen by Freud’s translator as a translation of his use of German Ich as a noun for this concept from the pronoun ich (“I”). Doublet of I and Ich.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈiːɡəʊ/
- (obsolete) IPA^(key): /ˈɛɡəʊ/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈiɡoʊ/
Rhymes: -iːɡəʊ

Noun

ego (countable and uncountable, plural egos)

The self, especially with a sense of self-importance.
- 1998, Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
  When every thought absorbs your attention completely, when you are so identified with the voice in your head and the emotions that accompany it that you lose yourself in every thought and every emotion, then you are totally identified with form and therefore in the grip of ego. Ego is a conglomeration of recurring thought forms and conditioned mental-emotional patterns that are invested with a sense of I, a sense of self.
(psychology, Freudian) The most central part of the mind, which mediates with one's surroundings.
- 1954, Calvin S. Hall, “A Primer of Freudian Psychology”
  In the well adjusted person the ego is the executive of the personality and is governed by the reality principle.
- 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, London: Heinemann, OCLC 59891543, page 19:
  ‘Everything begins with “I”, you mean. Which is ego,’ said Tom, placing an ankle behind his ear, ‘not id.’

Synonyms

I, Ich

Coordinate terms

(Freudian self): id, superego

Derived terms

absolute ego
alter ego
auxiliary ego
egocentric
egocentrically
egocentricity
egocentrism
ego-dystonic
egodystonic
egoism
egoist
egoistic
egoistical
egoistically
egomania
egomaniac
ego-minded
ego-mindedness
ego-self
ego shooter
ego surfing
ego-surfing
ego-syntonic
egosyntonic
egotism
egotist
egotistic
egotistical
egotistically
ego-trip
ego trip
ego-tripping
empirical ego
executive ego function
non-empirical ego
pure ego
superego
super-ego
transcendental ego

Translations

the self

Arabic: اَلْأَنَا‎ m (al-ʾanā)
Catalan: jo (ca) m, ego (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 自我 (zh) (zì wǒ)
Danish: ego (da) n
Esperanto: egoo (eo)
Finnish: minä (fi); ego (fi)
French: moi (fr) m
Galician: ego (gl) m, eu (gl)
German: Ich (de) n, Ego (de) n
Greek: εγώ (el) n (egó)
Hebrew: אגו‎ (he) m (ego)
Hindi: अहं (hi) (ahã)
Ido: ego (io)
Japanese: 自我 (ja) (じが, jiga), エゴ (ego)
Korean: 자아 (ko) (jaa)
Latin: idem (la) n
Norwegian:
Bokmål: ego (no) n, jeg (no) n
Nynorsk: ego n, eg (nn) n
Persian: خود‎ (fa) (xod), نفس‎ (fa) (nafs)
Portuguese: ego (pt) m, eu (pt) m
Russian: э́го (ru) n (égo), я (ru) n (ja)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: е̑го m, ја̑
Roman: ȇgo (sh) m, jȃ (sh)
Spanish: ego (es) m, yo (es) m
Swedish: ego (sv) n
Telugu: అహం (te) (ahaṁ)
Turkish: ego (tr)
Urdu: خاکسار‎ (xāksār)
Vietnamese: cái tôi

psychoanalytic ego

Catalan: jo (ca) m, ego (ca) m
Czech: ego (cs) n, já (cs) n
Danish: jeg (da) n, ego (da) n
Esperanto: egoo (eo), mio (eo)
Finnish: minä (fi)
French: moi (fr) m
Galician: ego (gl)
Hindi: अहं (hi) (ahã), अहम्‌ (aham‌)
Persian: آن‌من‎ (fa) (ân-man)
Polish: ego (pl) n
Portuguese: ego (pt) m, eu (pt) m

Anagrams

EOG, GEO, GOE, Geo., Goe, geo, geo-, goe

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin ego. Doublet of jo.

Pronunciation

(Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈe.ɡo/

(Central) IPA^(key): /ˈe.ɡu/

Noun

ego m (plural egos)

ego (the self)
Synonym: jo

Related terms

egoisme
egoista

Czech

Etymology

From Latin ego (“I”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈɛɡo]

Noun

ego n

ego
(psychoanalysis) ego

Declension

Declension of ego

	singular	plural
nominative	ego	ega
genitive	ega	eg
dative	egu	egům
accusative	ego	ega
vocative	ego	ega
locative	egu	egách
instrumental	egem	egy

Synonyms

já

Related terms

alter ego
egoismus
egoista
egoistický

Dutch

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin egō.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈeː.ɣoː/
Audio (file)
Hyphenation: ego

Noun

ego n (plural ego's, diminutive egootje n)

ego, self

Derived terms

egodocument

Related terms

egoïsme, egoïst, egoïstisch

Anagrams

oge

Finnish

Etymology

From Latin egō (“I”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈeɡo/, [ˈe̞ɡo̞]
Rhymes: -eɡo
Syllabification^(key): e‧go

Noun

ego

ego
(psychoanalysis) ego

Declension

Inflection of ego (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)
nominative		ego	egot
genitive		egon	egojen
partitive		egoa	egoja
illative		egoon	egoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		ego	egot
accusative	nom.	ego	egot
accusative	gen.	egon	egot
genitive		egon	egojen
partitive		egoa	egoja
inessive		egossa	egoissa
elative		egosta	egoista
illative		egoon	egoihin
adessive		egolla	egoilla
ablative		egolta	egoilta
allative		egolle	egoille
essive		egona	egoina
translative		egoksi	egoiksi
instructive		—	egoin
abessive		egotta	egoitta
comitative		—	egoineen

Possessive forms of ego (type valo)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	egoni	egomme
2nd person	egosi	egonne
3rd person	egonsa

Anagrams

geo-

Ido

Etymology

Borrowed from English ego, French égo, German Ego, Italian ego, Russian э́го (égo), Spanish ego. Decision no. 693, Progreso IV.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈe.ɡo/

Noun

ego (invariable)

ego

Derived terms

egoismo (“egoism”)
egoista (“egoistic; selfish”)
egoisto (“egotist”)
neego (“nonego, the external world”)
ne-ego (“nonego, the external world”)

Indonesian

Etymology

From Latin ego (“I”), from Proto-Italic *egō, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂. Doublet of eke.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈeɡo]
Hyphenation: égo

Noun

ego (first-person possessive egoku, second-person possessive egomu, third-person possessive egonya)

(psychology) ego.

Derived terms

ego alien
ego bebas konflik

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ego.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.ɡo/
Rhymes: -ɛɡo
Hyphenation: è‧go

Noun

ego m (invariable)

ego

Anagrams

geo-, goe

Latin

Alternative forms

eco (Early Latin)

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *egō, from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἐγώ (egṓ).

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈe.ɡoː/, [ˈɛɡoː]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈe.ɡo/, [ˈɛːɡo]

(with iambic shortening)

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈe.ɡo/, [ˈɛɡɔ]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈe.ɡo/, [ˈɛːɡo]

Pronoun

ego or egō (first person, nominative, plural nōs)

I; first person singular personal pronoun, nominative case
- 4th century, St Jerome, Vulgate, Tobit 3:19
  et aut ego indigna fui illis aut illi mihi forsitan digni non fuerunt quia forsitan viro alio conservasti me
  And either I was unworthy of them, or they perhaps were not worthy of me: because perhaps thou hast kept me for another man

Declension

Person	First	Second	Reflexive third	Third			First	Second	Reflexive third	Third
Number	Singular						Plural
Case / Gender	Masc./ Fem./Neut.			Masc.	Fem.	Neut.	Masc./ Fem./Neut.			Masc.	Fem.	Neut.
Nominative	ego egō	tū	—	is	ea	id	nōs	vōs	—	eī iī	eae	ea
Genitive	meī	tuī	suī	eius			nostrī nostrum	vestrī vestrum	suī	eōrum	eārum	eōrum
Dative	mihi	tibi	sibi	eī			nōbīs	vōbīs	sibi	eīs
Accusative	mē	tē	sē sēsē	eum	eam	id	nōs	vōs	sē sēsē	eōs	eās	ea
Ablative	mē	tē	sē sēsē	eō	eā	eō	nōbīs	vōbīs	sē sēsē	eīs
Vocative	egō	tū	—				nōs	vōs	—

Mēd is an early form of mē.

Derived terms

mecum
egomet, meimet, mihimet, memet
proximus egomet mihi

Descendants

Inherited

Sardinian: dego, deo, deu, ego, eo, eu
Vulgar Latin: eo (see there for further descendants)

Borrowed

→ Catalan: ego
→ Dutch: ego
→ English: ego
→ French: ego
→ Galician: ego
→ German: Ego
→ Italian: ego
→ Portuguese: ego
→ Spanish: ego

References

“ego”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ego”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
ego in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
ego in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
- to be hardly able to restrain one's tears: vix me contineo quin lacrimem
- I cannot sleep for anxiety: curae somnum mihi adimunt, dormire me non sinunt
- I'm undone! it's all up with me: perii! actum est de me! (Ter. Ad. 3. 2. 26)
- I was induced by several considerations to..: multae causae me impulerunt ad aliquid or ut...
- I console myself with..: hoc (illo) solacio me consōlor
- I console myself with..: haec (illa) res me consolatur
- (great) advantage accrues to me from this: fructus ex hac re redundant in or ad me
- I will refuse you nothing: nihil tibi a me postulanti recusabo
- I express my approval of a thing: res a me probatur
- as far as I can guess: quantum ego coniectura assequor, auguror
- if I am not mistaken: nisi (animus) me fallit
- unless I'm greatly mistaken: nisi omnia me fallunt
- I am not unaware: me non fugit, praeterit
- I cannot bring myself to..: a me impetrare non possum, ut
- I forget something: oblivio alicuius rei me capit
- experience has taught me: usus me docuit
- this goes to prove what I say: hoc est a (pro) me
- the matter speaks for itself: res ipsa (pro me apud te) loquitur
- something harasses me, makes me anxious: aliquid me sollicitat, me sollicitum habet, mihi sollicitudini est, mihi sollicitudinem affert
- I am discontented with my lot: fortunae meae me paenitet
- I am not dissatisfied with my progress: non me paenitet, quantum profecerim
- what will become of me: quid (de) me fiet? (Ter. Heaut. 4. 3. 37)
- it's all over with me; I'm a lost man: actum est de me
- I have great hopes that..: magna me spes tenet (with Acc. c. Inf.) (Tusc. 1. 41. 97)
- hope has played me false: spes me frustratur
- I have received a legacy from a person: hereditas ad me or mihi venit ab aliquo (Verr. 2. 1. 10)
- I have no objection: per me licet
- (ambiguous) to be burned to ashes: incendio deleri, absūmi
- (ambiguous) to be carried off by a disease: morbo absūmi (Sall. Iug. 5. 6)
- (ambiguous) to die a natural death: morbo perire, absūmi, consūmi
- (ambiguous) according to my strong conviction: ex animi mei sententia (vid. sect. XI. 2)
- (ambiguous) I put myself at your disposal as regards advice: consilii mei copiam facio tibi
- (ambiguous) my dear father: pater optime or carissime, mi pater (vid. sect. XII. 10)
- (ambiguous) I swear on my conscience: ex animi mei sententia iuro

Latvian

Noun

ego m (invariable)

ego

Noun

ego m (invariable)

eglantine

Synonyms

smaržlapu roze

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ego.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.ɡɔ/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -ɛɡɔ
Syllabification: e‧go

Noun

ego n (indeclinable)

(psychoanalysis) ego (the most central part of the mind which mediates with one's surroundings)

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ego (“I”). Doublet of eu.

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.ɡu/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.ɡo/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.ɡu/ [ˈɛ.ɣu]

Hyphenation: e‧go

Noun

ego m (plural egos)

ego (the self)
(psychology) ego (most central part of the mind)

Derived terms

massagear o ego

Related terms

egocêntrico
egocentrismo
egoísmo
egoísta
egoístico
ególatra
egolatria
egomania
egomaníaco
egômano
egotismo
egotista
eu

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Latin ego.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /êːɡo/
Hyphenation: e‧go

Noun

ȇgo m (Cyrillic spelling е̑го)

ego

Declension

Declension of ego

	singular	plural
nominative	ȇgo	ega
genitive	ȇga	ega
dative	egu	egima
accusative	ego	ega
vocative	ego	ega
locative	egu	egima
instrumental	egom	egima

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin ego (“I”). Doublet of yo.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈeɡo/ [ˈe.ɣ̞o]
Rhymes: -eɡo
Syllabification: e‧go

Noun

ego m (plural egos)

ego
Synonym: yo

Related terms

egocéntrico
egoísmo
egoísta

Turkish

Etymology

From Latin ego (“I”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈe.ɡo/

Noun

ego (definite accusative egou, plural egolar)

ego (the self, especially with a sense of self-importance)
(psychoanalysis) ego

Related terms

egoist
egoizm
egosantrik

ego

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Synonyms

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Related terms

Further reading

Czech

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Synonyms

Related terms

See also

Further reading

Dutch

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Related terms

Anagrams

Finnish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Anagrams

Ido

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Indonesian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Further reading

Italian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Further reading

Anagrams

Latin

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Pronoun

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

See also

References

Latvian

Noun

Noun

Synonyms

Polish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Further reading

Portuguese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Related terms