soloist

Etymology

It is formed from English solo + -ist.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The first part is from Italian solo (“alone”), from Latin sōlus (“alone”).^[3][7][8][6] Klein calls the word a hybrid, since the suffix comes from Greek.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A performer of solos in vocal or instrumental music: 1839 in Etymonline.^[3] The OED, Merriam-Webster Unabridged and Barnhart date the word to 1864,^[2][4][9] the OED's first record being in the periodical Realm of 20 April that year.^[2] Dictionary.com gives 1860–65.^[10]

Semantic evolution

The word follows the musical noun solo, recorded from the 1690s,^[3][7] and it stayed close to music: Merriam-Webster Unabridged says it especially means someone who performs solos at an orchestral or choral concert.^[4] When solo was applied to aircraft flights from 1909,^[3] the derivative followed, and in 1930 the OED records soloist for someone who flies solo.^[2]

Timeline

• 1839 – a performer of solos in vocal or instrumental music.^[3] The OED's first record is from 1864.^[2][4]
• 1930 – in aviation, someone who flies solo.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who performs a solo, especially a singer or musician at an orchestral or choral concert: The soloist tuned her violin before the second movement.^{[4][11][8][5]}
2. In aviation, a person who flies solo.^[2][4]

Word family

• soloistic

Related words

• sole

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
10. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
11. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins