ipse

Ipse is a Latin intensive pronoun and adjective meaning "self," "himself," "herself," or more broadly "the very." It functions to emphasize the subject or an associated noun and can be used as a standalone pronoun or as an attributive modifier before a noun.

In grammar, ipse agrees with gender and number and is declined similarly to a demonstrative adjective. The base forms include ipse (masculine), ipsa (feminine), and ipsum (neuter) in the nominative singular, with corresponding case endings for other cases. The word also has possessive-like forms such as ipsius (genitive) and ipsi (dative), among others. Because of its demonstrative nature, there are plural forms as well, and the exact endings vary by case and gender. The key idea is that ipse marks emphasis and specificity rather than simply referring to a noun.

Usage of ipse spans several common patterns. It can stand alone as a pronoun: Ipse venit — He himself came. It can also modify a noun to intensify identity or emphasis: ipse vir (the very man, the man himself). In phrases like ipsi dixit, the emphasis is on the subject performing the action personally. The word is frequent in classical Latin and appears in legal, rhetorical, and literary contexts to stress agency, identity, or contrast.

Etymologically, ipse derives from a Proto-Italic root meaning "self" and is closely related to other reflective forms in Latin, such as idem (the same). It remains a standard tool in Latin style for foregrounding the subject or object and for creating distinctive, forceful expressions, as seen in well-known uses like ipse dixit.