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Take Solace in This Word Origin
Solace is a 14th century borrowing from Latin by way of Anglo-French. Its Latin ancestor solari means “to console.” (Solari itself is from the Greek word hilaros, meaning “cheerful”—also source, of course, of hilarious.) Solace is not related to solar (that comes from Latin sol by way of solaris), but it is a close relation of console (“to try to make (someone) feel less sadness or disappointment”) and consolation (“something that makes a person feel less sadness, disappointment, etc.”). In addition to its noun function, solace can be used as a verb (“he was solaced by the company of his children”). For those of you who take solace in knowing the more obscure members of our vast language, we are pleased to also present solacer (“one who solaces”) and solacement (“an act of solacing or the condition of being solaced”).
Synonyms
Examples of solace in a Sentence
Robert Kuttner, New York Times Book Review, 23 Oct. 1988
In this deplorable state, I contrived to do, what I take to have been, three Objective things. I got Mr. Franklin his sherry; I retired to my own room; and I solaced myself with the most composing pipe of tobacco I ever remember to have smoked in my life.
—Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone, 1868
… and it was settled that Mr. Jones should be sent for early in the morning if Miss Bennet were not decidedly better. Bingley was quite uncomfortable; his sisters declared that they were miserable. They solaced their wretchedness, however, by duets after supper …
—Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, 1813
counselors did their best to solace the bereaved children
I solaced myself with a book while I waited for the bus.
Noun
Think your city's suffering? Imagine if your favorite team bolted town after 41 seasons, not for some cosmopolitan burg but a dusty outpost where oil derricks qualify as urban skyline. Now imagine turning to your city's other teams for solace only to find each to be avert-your-eyes abysmal.
—Chris Ballard, Sports Illustrated, 10 Nov. 2008
It's important to explain what's going on, but some parents tell their child too much—about being lonely and frightened, about dates they're going on. Instead of the parent offering emotional solace to the child, the child is expected to provide it for the adult.
—People, 4 Mar. 2002
Poe's poem is a morbidly sentimental threnody on the same theme: the speaker blames the envious angels for taking his beloved from this world, and finds solace in lying beside her grave.
—David Lodge, The Art of Fiction, 1992
Her presence was a great solace for me.
the kind words brought a little solace to the grieving widow
Brenda Wineapple, WSJ, 25 Oct. 2018
Harriette Cole, The Mercury News, 16 Nov. 2024
Amid this emotional void, Stewart found solace in gardening—a passion that grew partly from necessity, as her family often struggled to put food on the table due to her father’s alcoholism.
—Sandra Rose Salathe, Flow Space, 4 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Solace.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solace. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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