selfhood

[ self-hood ]

noun

1. the state of being an individual person; individuality.
2. one's personality.
3. selfishness.

selfhood

/ ˈsɛlfhʊd /

noun

1. philosophy
   1. the state of having a distinct identity
   2. the individuality so possessed
2. a person's character
3. the quality of being egocentric

Word History and Origins

Origin of selfhood¹

First recorded in 1640–50; self + -hood

Example Sentences

As it turns out, she’s the mother of two daughters, and the secrets she carries force us to reckon with distinctions between selfhood and selfishness, especially in the context of motherhood.

From Time

An influential tradition, dating back at least as far as Descartes, held that non-human animals lacked conscious selfhood because they did not have rational minds to guide their behavior.

From Nautilus

The essence of selfhood is neither a rational mind nor an immaterial soul.

From Nautilus

It is a deeply embodied biological process, a process that underpins the simple feeling of being alive that is the basis for all our experiences of selfhood.

From Nautilus

Instead, each American should spend his days cultivating his individualism, his selfhood.

From The Daily Beast

It is this socialized and conscious selfhood which is both the aim and the hope of true democracy.

From Project Gutenberg

Helen disappears from the scene, she has contributed her share, her own selfhood, to the experience of the young man.

From Project Gutenberg

What Swedenborg calls 'selfhood,' the proprium, is not in him.

From Project Gutenberg

I believe, indeed, that this objection to be Superior was a remnant of the selfhood, colored with humility.

From Project Gutenberg

But the one universal expression for the entire community is in nationalism, the assertion of selfhood as a people.

From Project Gutenberg