Etymograph

English

solitaire

Solitaire comes from French solitaire ‘solitary, alone’, and goes back to Latin solus.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolus1‘alone’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolitas1‘solitude, loneliness’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsōlitārius2‘solitary’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentsolitaire2‘solitary, alone’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1771solitaire2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin solitarius
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English solitaire
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1771, Tobias Smollett, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker […]: “The fellow wears a ſolitaire, uſes paint, and takes…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolusWiktionary, Latin solitarius‘alone’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolitasWiktionary, Latin solitarius‘solitude, loneliness’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsōlitāriusWiktionary, English solitaire‘solitary’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentsolitaireWiktionary, English solitaire‘solitary, alone’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1771solitaireWiktionary, English solitaire. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1771, Tobias Smollett, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker […]: “The fellow wears a ſolitaire, uſes paint, and takes…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *swé ‘self’

such, self, suicide, idiot, sans, idiocy, swain, sere, 21 more

through Latin solus ‘alone’

solo, sole, desolate, desolation, sullen, solus, 6 more

Today it means

noun A person who lives alone; a recluse or hermit.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “solitaire”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin solitarius. 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 / Latin solus / solitaire

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