ego

noun
/ˈiɡo//ˈiːɡəʊ/UK/ˈiɡoʊ/US

Etymology

From Latin ego (“I”). Chosen by Freud’s translator as a translation of his use of German Ich as a noun for this concept from the pronoun ich (“I”). Doublet of I and Ich.

  1. borrowed from ego

Definitions

  1. The self, especially with a sense of self-importance.

  2. The most central part of the mind, which mediates with one's surroundings.

    • In the well adjusted person the ego is the executive of the personality and is governed by the reality principle.
    • ‘Everything begins with “I”, you mean. Which is ego,’ said Tom, placing an ankle behind his ear, ‘not id.’
  3. A person's self-esteem and opinion of themselves.

    • Too many gay people "come out" publicly, yet fail to achieve truly healthy egos. They "adjust" to being less than whole or integrated persons.
    • My columns in the early days of the Labour government often featured John Prescott, who was in charge of transport as part of a mega-department created to match his ego.
  4. + 1 more definition
    1. The individual from whose point of view a family tree or pedigree chart is drawn, or the…

      The individual from whose point of view a family tree or pedigree chart is drawn, or the reference point from whom kinship terminology is relative. (Used without the definite article the.)

      • the cousin of ego on the father's side

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for ego. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA