ipse

From Latin ipse.

ipse

1. himself; herself; itself

• ipsus (Old Latin)

From Proto-Italic *e(s)peso, a compound pronoun whose -p- is of difficult-to-trace origin. See the Proto-Italic entry for more.

The p is traditionally explained as as follows. In Old Latin when both parts were inflected, an epenthetic consonant p was inserted in the form *eum-sum, yielding eum-p-sum. From these accusative forms the stems -pso and -psā were extracted and adapted to the nominative forms, thus ipsus and eapsa. Ultimately the paradigm was assimilated to that of iste, ille, with only later in the history of Latin neuter ipsum becoming ipsud.^[1]

De Vaan argues that the -p- need not necessarily be epenthetic, but instead it may be the particle -pe.

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈip.se/, [ˈɪps̠ɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈip.se/, [ˈipse]
• Hyphenation: ip‧se

ipse (feminine ipsa, neuter ipsum); demonstrative pronoun (pronominal)

1. (emphatic) himself, herself, itself, the very, the actual
   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 5.6:

     cōpiaque ipsa nocet

     and the very abundance [of choices] hurts

2. specific reference to the chief, the leader, the one, etc., used to distinguish the principal person from the subordinates
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 1.113–115:

     Ūnam, quae Lyciōs fīdumque vehēbat Orontēn,
     ipsius ante oculōs, ingēns ā vertice pontus
     in puppim ferit [...].

     One [ship], which was carrying the faithful Orontes and [his] Lycians – [and it happened] before the eyes of [Aeneas] himself – a huge wave [descending] from high above smashes upon [its] stern [...].
     (See: Aeneas; Lycia, Lycians.)

3. in person
4. for one's part, for his part, for her part
5. alone, by oneself, by one's own accord, of one's own nature
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.475–476:

     [...] tempus sēcum ipsa modumque / exigit, [...].

     [..., and] all by herself [Dido] works out the time and manner [of her own death], [...].
     (Literally, “with she herself;” in other words, Dido tells no one about her suicidal thoughts.)

6. just (with an adverb of time)

   nunc ipsum ― just now; at this very time

   tum ipsum ― just now; at that very time

7. exactly, precisely, just (with a numeral or for contrast)

Demonstrative pronoun (pronominal).

It follows the pronominal declension

• In Medieval Latin the neuter form ipsud (instead of ipsum) appears.

• semetipse
• ipsimus
• rēapse
• ipse dīxit
• rēs ipsa loquitur, rēs loquitur ipsa

• “ipse”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ipse in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to penetrate into the heart of Greece: in ipsam or intimam Graeciam penetrare
    
  • (ambiguous) at the same moment that, precisely when: eo ipso tempore, cum; tum ipsum, cum
    
  • just at the critical moment: in ipso discrimine (articulo) temporis
    
  • extraneous causes: causae extrinsecus allatae (opp. in ipsa re positae)
    
  • at the critical moment: in ipso periculi discrimine
    
  • everyday experience tells us this: res ipsa, usus rerum (cotidie) docet
    
  • the very facts of the case show this: res ipsa docet
    
  • the matter speaks for itself: res ipsa (pro me apud te) loquitur
    
  • there is a flavour of Atticism about his discourse: ex illius orationibus ipsae Athenae redolent
    
  • this is as clear as daylight: hoc est luce (sole ipso) clarius
    
  • (ambiguous) at the same moment that, precisely when: eo ipso tempore, cum; tum ipsum, cum
    
  • (ambiguous) with this very object: ad id ipsum
    
  • (ambiguous) the circumstances are described in language worthy of them: rebus ipsis par est oratio
    
  • (ambiguous) to have self-control; to restrain oneself, master one's inclinations: sibi imperare or continere et coercere se ipsum
    
• ipse in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016