English
solo
Solo comes from Italian solo ‘alone’, from Latin sōlus ‘alone’, whose further origin is uncertain.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsōlus‘alone’
- Italianc. 1300–presentsolo‘alone’
- Englishearliest quotation 1970same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsōlus‘alone’
- Italianc. 1300–presentsolo‘alone’
- Englishearliest quotation 1970same form
Earliest quotation: 1970, Paul McCartney, Two of Us: “Two of us wearing raincoats / Standing solo /…”
The story
Borrowed from Italian solo, from Latin sōlus, probably related to se (‘himself’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *swé ‘self’
such, self, suicide, idiot, sans, swain, idiocy, sere, 19 more
through Latin sōlus ‘alone, sole, only, by oneself with no others…’
sole, solitary, solitude, sullen, desolate, desolation, solitaire, solus, 4 more
Today it means
noun A piece of music for one performer.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin sōlus / solo