Etymograph

English

solidus

Solidus comes from Latin solidus ‘solid’, from Proto-Indo-European *solh₂-i-dʰ-o-s ‘entire’, and ultimately from *solh₂- ‘integrate, whole’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-1‘integrate, whole’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-i-dʰ-o-s1‘entire’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*soliðos1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolidus2‘solid’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500solidus2
  6. Englishtodaysolidus2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin solidus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English solidus

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-Wiktionary, Latin solidus‘integrate, whole’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*solh₂-i-dʰ-o-sWiktionary, Latin solidus‘entire’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*soliðosWiktionary, Latin solidusreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolidusWiktionary, English solidus‘solid’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500solidusWiktionary, English solidus
  6. EnglishtodaysolidusWiktionary, English solidus

The story

In numismatic and weight senses, via medieval Latin solidus (‘various coins’), from Late Latin solidus (‘a gold coin of the Roman Empire’). In chemical sense, via German Solidus, coined by H.W.B. In typography, from the shilling mark originally being an abbreviation (a long s ⟨ſ⟩), of Medieval Latin solidus meaning shilling.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- ‘integrate, whole’

save, safe, sold, salvation, sage, salute, savior, salvage, holocaust, salvo, salve, salvia, salutation, salutary, salubrious, 27 more

through Latin solidus ‘solid’

soldier, xu, sol, consolidate, sou, soldado, 10 more

Today it means

noun A Roman ~23k gold coin introduced by Diocletian in AD 301 and called by that name, but reissued at a slightly lower weight by Constantine I.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “solidus”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin solidus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- / solidus

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