Etymologically
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sollicite

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Forms

sollicitē (comparative sollicitius, superlative sollicitissimē)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin sollicitus (“troubled, anxious”) + -ē.[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Georges cites it first from Seneca, of anxiety.[2] Köbler dates it from Pliny the Elder.[3]

Semantic evolution

It means with a troubled mind, anxiously, as in Seneca and Silius Italicus,[1][2] and more often with anxious care, carefully:[1] Seneca says the tongue must be carefully guarded even among the drunk, and Quintilian speaks of distinctions drawn more carefully and at greater length.[1] Pliny the Younger uses it of people preparing a reading, and Suetonius says that Claudius took the greatest care over the grain supply.[1] Gellius has a question examined accurately and carefully, and Augustine warns that pride must be most carefully avoided in teaching.[1][2]

Timeline

  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca of guarding the tongue.[1][2]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian in the comparative.[1]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius of Claudius' care for the grain supply.[1]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius of a careful inquiry.[1]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine on pride in teaching.[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Anxiously, with a troubled mind.[1][2]
  2. With anxious care, carefully, scrupulously.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de