Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “solicit” come from?

Solicit comes from Middle English solliciten, from Old French soliciter, from Latin sollicitare, derived from the adjective sollicitus meaning "troubled" or "anxious," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "whole" and "to move."

solicit (English): To persistently endeavor to obtain an object, or...

Definitions

  1. To persistently endeavor to obtain an object, or...

Ancestry of “solicit”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishsoliciten—
2Old Frenchsoliciter—
3Latinsollicitō—
4LatinsollicitusThoroughly moved, agitated or disturbed;...
5Latinsolluswhole, entire, unbroken
6Proto-Italicsolnos—
7Proto-Indo-Europeansol(h₂)nós—
8Proto-Indo-Europeansolh₂-whole

Words derived from “solicit”

  • soliciting
  • solicitee
  • solicitory
  • solicitest
  • soliciteth
  • nonsoliciting
  • nonsolicit
Every word from Proto-Indo-European solh₂- →