ipsissimosity

Etymology

From German Ipsissimosität, coined in 1886 by Friedrich Nietzsche from the Latin ipsissima (“very own”).

Why this word is great

IPSISSIMOSITY — [Noun] The quality of being intensely self-referential or self-focused. From German Ipsissimosität, coined in 1886 by Friedrich Nietzsche, derived from the Latin ipsissima ("very own") + -ity (suffix forming abstract nouns). Unlike "solipsism" (which denies the external) or "egocentrism" (which places the self at the center), ipsissimosity is the mind tracing its own contours like a tongue probing a missing tooth. It is the diary entry that dissects the act of writing diaries, the philosopher who footnotes his own footnotes, or the lover who gazes not at their beloved but at their own reflection in the beloved’s eyes—a quiet, recursive hunger to know the self knowing.

noun

  1. Self-referentiality.“who has not been sick to death of everything subjective and its accursed ipsissimosity!”