solutionsolution

Solution comes from Old French solucion, from Latin solūtiō ‘a loosening’, from solvō ‘to loosen; to solve’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- ‘to release’.

1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewh₁-¹‘to cut off’reconstructed
2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*luh₁éti¹reconstructed
3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEluō¹‘to let go’
4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolvō¹‘loosen’
5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolūtiō²as solutionem‘the act of loosening or unfastening someone or something’
6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400solucion³‘payment of a debt’
7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500solucioun³‘the answer to or explanation for a problem’
8. Englishearliest quotation 1681solution³

1. ¹ Wiktionary, Latin solutio
2. ² Wiktionary, Old French solucion
3. ³ Wiktionary, English solution
4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1681, Scotland. Court of Session, The decisions of the Court of Session: “he was not obliged to repeat what he had…”.