solicitude

Forms

solicitude f^[1] Houaiss gives the 15th-century spellings soliçitidõoe and ssoliçitudo.^[1] Cunha records two other medieval forms, soliçidõe and soliçidumbre, both of the 15th century.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin sollicitūdō (“anxiety, care”), recorded from the 15th century.^[1][2][3] Nascentes calls it semi-learned.^[4] Cunha dates the modern form only to 1844.^[2] The same Latin noun is Spanish solicitud, Galician solicitude, Catalan sol·licitud, French sollicitude, Italian sollecitudine and Romanian solicitudine.^[5][6]

The Latin noun is formed from sollicitus (“agitated, anxious”) with the suffix -tūdō, shortened by haplology.^[7][5] The adjective is from sollus (“whole, entire”) and cieō (“to move, stir”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's first record is from the 15th century, in the slips of Cunha's index of medieval Portuguese.^[1] By then the Latin word had already shifted from classical "worry, anxiety" to Medieval Latin "care, attention".^[8][7]

Semantic evolution

Vieira (1871–1874) defines it as anxious care and diligence in pursuing or obtaining an end, keeping something of the Latin sense of worry.^[9] Silva Bastos (1912) adds eagerness in asking.^[10] Modern dictionaries centre on the attentive goodwill of someone who is solícito: readiness to meet a request, zeal in giving help, and affectionate care.^[1][11][12] The verb solicitar belongs to the same Latin family.^[13]

Timeline

• 15th century – first record, spelt soliçitidõoe and ssoliçitudo.^[1]
• 15th century – the forms soliçidõe and soliçidumbre.^[2]
• 1844 – Cunha's date for solicitude.^[2]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira: "anxious care and diligence".^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The quality of being solicitous (solícito).^[1][11][14]
2. Eagerness and diligence in pursuing or reaching an end.^[1][11]
3. Goodwill; the wish to meet a request as well as possible: respondeu ao pedido com solicitude.^[1][11]
4. Dedication and zeal in giving any kind of help.^[1][15]
5. Attentive, affectionate care; solicitude.^[1][12][16]

Related words

• solícito
• solicitar
• Latin sollicitūdō
• Spanish solicitud

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. solicitude
2. ^ a b c d e Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. solicitude
3. ^ Wikcionário (Portuguese Wiktionary), pt.wiktionary.org
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. solicitude
5. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
6. ^ Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. solicitud
7. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. sollicitūdō
8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. sollicitudo
9. ^ a b Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 5, 575
10. ^ Silva Bastos, José Timóteo da (1912), Diccionario etymologico, prosodico e orthographico da lingua portugueza, Lisboa: Parceria António Maria Pereira, p. s.v. solicitude
11. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. solicitude
12. ^ a b Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. solicitude
13. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. solicitar
14. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. solicitude
15. ^ Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. solicitude
16. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 8603