mid-15c. in northern dialect, standard from 1540s, alteration of Middle English tham-self, emphatic plural pronoun, also reciprocal pronoun (14c.); see them + self, with self, originally an inflected adjective, treated as a noun with a meaning "person" and pluralized. Displacing Old English heom selfum (dative). Themself returned late 20c. as some writers took to replacing himself with gender-neutral everyone, anyone, etc.
雙語例句
1. These large institutions make — and change—the rules to suit themselves.
這些大機構總是隨意制定規定，而且說變就變。
來自柯林斯例句
2. People will work themselves up into a state about anything.
人們總會沉不住氣，為任何事感到擔憂。
來自柯林斯例句
3. In many respects Asian women see themselves as equal to their men.
在很多方面，亞洲女性都認為自己和丈夫是平等的。
來自柯林斯例句
4. The small British crowd roared themselves hoarse, waving their Union Jacks.
一小群英國人揮舞著國旗，吼得嗓子都沙啞了。
來自柯林斯例句
5. Those people who took up weapons to defend themselves are political prisoners.