Themself

I am a civil servant and in the course of my work I was writing a document for publication (a Fire & Rescue Service circular). In that draft I used the word 'themself' because it was a gender neutral third person singular. I got back an e-mail from a colleague informing me that I couldn't use 'themself' because it wasn't a word. Here's an edited highlight of the e-mail (names removed to protect the guilty and innocent alike). >>> Someone 14:47 04 Jul 06 >>> There is no such word as "themself" >>> Themself 04/07/06 15:43:10 >>> I disagree on the existence of 'themself' I use it all the time. Perhaps it is a Scottish word. >>> Someone 16:07 04 Jul 06 >>> "Themself" is not in the Oxford English Dictionary. The Chambers Dictionary says it is best avoided. And Fowler's Modern…