solaris

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [soːˈɫaː.rɪs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [soˈlaː.ris]^[1]

Forms

sōlāris (neuter sōlāre); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from sōl “sun” with the suffix -āris.^[2][1][3] Etymonline traces ⟨sōl⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *sawel- (“the sun”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Ovid, whom he dates 43 BC–18 AD, and Lewis and Short cite Ovid's lūmen sōlāre and call the word not ante-Augustan.^[5][3]

Semantic evolution

It meant of the sun, solar, as Seneca's solar and lunar rainbows and Pliny's circulus sōlāris, and exposed to the sun.^[2][3][6] Herba sōlāris in Celsus was a plant whose flowers turn to the sun, the heliotrope.^[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant solar, of the sun.^[7] British Medieval Latin applied it figuratively to the Virgin Mary and used it in computing time, the solar year.^[8] It survives in Italian solare, French solaire and Spanish solar, and English solar came in the mid-15th century.^[1][4]

Timeline

• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses lūmen sōlāre.^[3][5]
• 14–37 AD – Celsus uses herba sōlāris.^[2][5]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca speaks of solar rainbows.^[3][5]
• mid-15th century – English solar is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of the sun, solar; exposed to the sun.^[2]
2. herba sōlāris, the heliotrope.^[2]

Related words

• sōl
• sōlāgō
• sōlānus
• sōlārium
• sōlātus
• sōlstitiālis
• sōlstitium
• English solar

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press