ext_23281 ([identity profile] miss-daizy.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] 1word1day2010-01-27 08:22 am

On a wintery Wednesday

From [livejournal.com profile] miss_daizy's “I didn't know there was a word for that” files.

illeism - (n)

The practice of referring to oneself as "he" or "she", or by one's name

n. illeist
Adj. illeistic

Etymology

Pretty straight forward. From the Latin ille, he, + -ism.
Its first citation is from 1809–10:

"For one piece of egotism … there are fifty that steal out in the mask of tuisms and ille-isms."
(Coleridge Friend (1818) I. 36 )

Usage:

If Elaine had known about Jimmy's tendency to illeism she would never have ended up going out with him.

Common culprits:

Elmo
Parents and toddlers
The Big Lebowski
Joe Biden
Bob Dole
Facebook users

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