solitude

Forms

solitude f (plural solitudes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin sōlitūdō (“being alone; a lonely place”), a learned word recorded from the 16th century.^[2][3][1] Houaiss, Cunha and Wiktionary take it straight from Latin, and none of the sources makes it a loan from French or Spanish.^[2][3][1] Cunha calls it a learned divergent form of solidão, the older word from the same Latin noun, and Nascentes a semi-learned one.^[3][4][5]

The same Latin word was borrowed as French solitude, Spanish solitud, Catalan solitud and Italian solitudine.^[1][6] The Latin noun is formed from sōlus (“alone”) with the suffix -tūdō, and meant both the state of being alone and a lonely place or wilderness.^[7][8][1]

Semantic evolution

Portuguese has had solidão since 1525 and soledade since 1664 for the same idea, so solitude stayed a literary word.^[5][9] Vieira's dictionary only refers it to soledade and solidão.^[10] Houaiss marks it as formal and the DLP, Aurélio and Priberam as poetic, all defining it as a synonym of solidão.^{[2][11][12][13]} Machado de Assis used it in Quincas Borba (1891), and Aurélio quotes Manuel Bandeira's line Na solitude, no silêncio e na desgraça! “in solitude, in silence and in misfortune”.^[14][12]

Timeline

• 16th century – first record.^[2][3]
• 1525 – the inherited synonym solidão is recorded, spelt solidã.^[5]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira enters the word as a cross-reference to soledade and solidão.^[10]
• 1891 – Machado de Assis writes o pão da solitude moral “the bread of moral solitude” in Quincas Borba.^[14]

Meanings

Noun

1. (formal, poetic) Solitude (solidão), the state of being or feeling alone.^{[2][11][12][13]}
2. (formal) Solitude that is sought or enjoyed by choice.^[15]
3. (formal) An uninhabited place; a wilderness (ermo).^[15]

Related words

• solidão
• soledade
• só
• solitário
• Latin sōlitūdō

Usage notes

Wikcionário presents solitude as above all a solitude that is pleasant or freely chosen, while Houaiss, the DLP and Aurélio treat it as a plain synonym of solidão.^{[15][2][11][12]}

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. solitude
3. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. solitude
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. solitude
5. ^ a b c Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. solidão
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. solitud
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. solitudo
8. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. solitudo
9. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. soledade
10. ^ 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, 577
11. ^ a b c 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. solitude
12. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. solitude
13. ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. solitude
14. ^ a b 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. solitude
15. ^ a b c Wikcionário (Portuguese Wiktionary), pt.wiktionary.org