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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

self-help en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *swé? Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *selbaz Old English self Old English self- Middle English self- English self- English help English self-help From self- + help.

Meanings

  1. (uncountable) The practice of bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others.
    • Look at the self-help titles in the bookstore, and you'll get a few clues about our culture. They're all about aggression and acquisition. It wouldn't be at all surprising to see a book called How to Force your Will on Other People by Giving Them the Shaft and Fucking Them out of Their Money. 1997, George Carlin, Brain Droppings, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 91:
    • Amanda Straw estimates that she has read nearly 200 self-help books. 2019 May 2, Nina Avramova, “When you should use self-help programs and when to skip them”, in CNN, archived from the original on 13 Jun 2025:
    • a self-help book
  2. (uncountable) An act of redressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions rather than through legal proceedings.
    • self-help repossession
    • Murder is dealt with by the law of blood-revenge, but the innocent manslayer may seek asylum at God's altar. With murder are ranked man-stealing, offences against parents, and witchcraft. Other injuries are occasions of self-help or of private suits to be adjusted at the sanctuary. 1892, W. Robertson Smith, The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, page 340:

Deriveds

self-helpy

Synonyms

self-improvement (act of bettering oneself)

Translations (29)

gl autoaxuda (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · es autoayuda (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · sv självhjälp (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · sh samopomoć (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · el αυτοβοήθεια (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · pl samopomoc (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · hu önsegélyezés (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · fi oma apu (redressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions) · nl zelfhulp (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · cmn 自助 (redressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions) · pt auto-ajuda (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · de Selbsthilfe (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · ga féinchúnamh (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · fi itseapu (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · ja 自力救済 (redressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions) · gu સ્વસહાય (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · cs svépomoc (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · ko 자력구제 (redressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions) · cmn 自力救濟 /自力救济 (redressing or preventing a wrong by one's own actions) · da selvhjælp (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · cmn 成功學 /成功学 (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · it autoaiuto (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · ga féinchabhair (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · cmn 勵志 /励志 (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · hu önsegély (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · hu önsegítés (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · nl zelfhelp (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · ca autoajuda (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others) · mk самопомош (bettering oneself without relying on the assistance of others)