Etymologically
Log in

solution

Etymology and origin of the English word solution

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1375, Barbour
Borrowed from
Old French solucion via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (solvō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /səˈluː.ʃᵊn/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English solucioun,[2] borrowed from Old French solucion (“division, dissolving, explanation, payment”),[2][3] and directly from Latin solūtiō (“a loosening, unfastening”),[2][3] from solūtus, past participle of solvere (“to loosen, untie, solve, dissolve”),[2][3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *se-lu-, from Proto-Indo-European *s(w)e-, the reflexive pronoun, and Proto-Indo-European *leu- (“to loosen”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of solving, explanation: 1375, in Barbour's The Bruce.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

In the late 14th century the word also meant the interpretation of a dream.[2] A particular answer or way of settling a problem is from 1382.[5] The action of dissolving a solid in a liquid is from 1390, in Gower's Confessio Amantis,[5][3] and the liquid containing a dissolved substance from 1594,[3] the 1590s in Etymonline.[2] In medicine it was the crisis of a disease (1851).[5] The obsolete senses “release” and “payment” (1489) echo the Latin “loosening”.[5]

Timeline

  • 1375 – the act of solving.[3][5]
  • 1382 – an answer to a problem.[5]
  • 1390 – the act of dissolving.[5][3]
  • 1489 – a payment.[5]
  • 1594 – a liquid with something dissolved in it.[3]
  • 1851 – the crisis of a disease.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A way of solving a problem, or the answer to one.
  2. A homogeneous mixture of two or more substances, usually a solid dissolved in a liquid.
  3. The process of dissolving, or the state of being dissolved.

Word family

  • solutional
  • exsolution
  • nonsolution
  • pseudosolution
  • solion
  • final solution
  • Benedict's solution
  • Dobell's solution
  • solve
  • dissolve
  • absolve
  • resolve
  • soluble
  • solvent
  • lose

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Solution.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/solution. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·