solo Italian · revision 37469

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=early 13th century, Uguccione da Lodi|origins=la sōlus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈso.lo/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''solo''' (feminine sola, masculine plural soli, feminine plural sole, superlative solissimo)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms are ''sòlu'' and ''sulo''.^(GDLI|19, 356) Poetry often shortens it to ''sol''.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|sōlus|t=alone, only]];^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) the adverb continues [[m|la|sōlum|t=only]], the adverbial neuter of the adjective.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary) In Old Italian, Old French and Old Occitan the adverbial form did not agree with its noun.^(REW 1935)

+

+ The word is found across the Romance languages except Romanian: [[fr|seul]], [[oc|sol]], [[ca|sol]], [[es|solo]] and [[pt|só]], and [[sc|solu]] in Logudorese.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|3538) It also passed into [[eu|soil]].^(DEI|3538)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The origin of Latin ⟨sōlus⟩ is uncertain.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) DELI and Nocentini follow the older explanation from the particle of separation [[m|la|sē-]] with an adjective suffix ⟨-lo-⟩, as if “apart, by oneself”;^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968|414) de Vaan finds this hardly possible and suggests instead the root of [[la|salvus|t=safe, whole]] and [[m|la|sollus|t=whole]], with ⟨sōlus⟩ first meaning “the whole, the one”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record of the adjective, “without company”, is in the poem of Uguccione da Lodi of the early 13th century, where gluttony is said to be glad to be alone: ''Quela malaeta gola / com volontiera se trova sola!'' “That cursed gluttony, how gladly it finds itself alone!”^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|19, 356) The adverb “only” follows before 1250 in Giacomo da Lentini: ''Molti creden tenere amistate / sol per pelare altrui'' “Many think they keep friendship only to fleece others”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|19, 358)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Petrarch writes ''Solo e pensoso i più deserti campi / vo mesurando'', “Alone and thoughtful I go pacing the most deserted fields”.^(GDLI|19, 356) After a numeral the word came to mean “only, no more than” (''due soli'') before 1544.^(DELI 1999) In the south of Italy the word also means “self”.^(REW 1935)

+

+ In music ''a solo'' marked a passage for one voice or instrument; from it came ''assolo'' (1706) and ''solista'' “soloist” (19th century).^(Nocentini 2010)^(DEI|3538)^(Prati 1951|928) The musical noun passed into English as ''solo'' in 1695 and into French in 1703 and German in 1726;^(DIFIT)^(Etymonline) English also took the adjective in 1712.^(DIFIT)^(Etymonline) ''Solino'', a detachable collar, is so called because it is separate from the shirt (18th century).^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 13th century – The adjective in Uguccione da Lodi.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1250 – The adverb “only” in Giacomo da Lentini.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – ''Solo che'' “except that”.^(DEI|3538)

+ * Before 1544 – After numerals, “only, no more than”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1695 – English ''solo'' in music.^(DIFIT)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1703 – French ''solo''.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1706 – ''Assolo''.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1712 – English ''solo'' as an adjective.^(DIFIT)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1726 – German ''Solo''.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1876 – ''Solista''.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|alone|alt=Alone]], without company: ''Il gatto è rimasto solo in casa tutto il giorno.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # [[m|en|lonely|alt=Lonely]], without family, friends or support: ''Dopo il trasloco si sentiva molto sola.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # Acting without help or the part of others, often ''da solo'': ''Ha costruito la barca da solo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # (in the plural) With no one else present: ''Finalmente soli!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # (before a noun) [[m|en|only|alt=Only]], single, sole: ''È la sola strada per il paese.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # (before a plural noun) Reserved for, exclusively: ''ingresso per soli residenti''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Only, just, merely: ''Ho solo un minuto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # (''solo che'') But, except that, (''se solo'') if only.^(Wiktionary)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The only one: ''È stato il solo a ricordarsene.''^(Wiktionary)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(music)'' A [[m|en|solo]], a piece or passage for one performer, also ''assolo''.^(DIFIT)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[solamente]]

+ * [[soletto]]

+ * [[solingo]]

+ * [[soltanto]]

+ * [[assolo]]

+ * [[solista]]

+ * [[solistico]]

+ * [[solino]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[solitario]]

+ * [[solitudine]]

+ * [[la|sōlus]]

+ * [[en|solo]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''da solo a solo'' “in private, face to face”, ''solo come un cane'' “all alone” and the proverb ''meglio soli che male accompagnati'' “better alone than in bad company”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) ''Solo'' is not to be confused with ''suolo'' “ground”, from [[la|solum|t=ground]].^(GDLI|19, 359)^(Körting 1907)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}