Etymologically
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solaris

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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]

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