solitary

▪ I. solitary, n.
    (ˈsɒlɪtərɪ)
    Also 5 solitari(e, solytarye.
    [Substantive use of the adj.]
    1. a. One who retires into, or lives in, solitude from religious motives; a hermit or recluse.

1435 Misyn Fire of Love 32 The holy solitari forsoith,..an excellent, goldy seet in heuyns he sall take emangis ordyrs of Aungels. c 1440 Alph. Tales 92, I went vnto a man þat hight Pachonius, þat dwelte in wyldernes a solitarie. 1651 tr. De-las-Coveras' Don Fenise 140 He told him..the course of her life untill the time she had retired her selfe into that solitude, at which the solitary much wondred. 1699 Evelyn Acetaria (1729) 166 Those ancient and truly pious Solitaries, who..were driven from their Countries and Repose by the Incursions of barbarous Nations. 1753 Challoner Cath. Chr. Instr. 178 From these Beginnings the Desarts of Egypt and of Thebais soon were peopled with innumerable Solitaries. 1813 Eustace Class. Tour (1821) III. iii. 69 An hermitage, that seems from its situation to be the cell of one of the holy solitaries of times of old. 1864 Kingsley Rom. & Teut. 239 The solitaries of the Thebaid found that they became selfish wild beasts, or went mad, if they remained alone. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1877) II. App. 599 Wythmann at last, after a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, died a solitary.

    b. One who lives by himself in seclusion or retirement; one who avoids, or is deprived of, the society of others.

a 1763 Shenstone Ess., Vision (1868) 118 The first meditation of a solitary, is the behaviour of men in active life. 1795–1814 Wordsw. Excursion vi. 1062, I noted that the Solitary's cheek Confessed the power of nature. 1816 Scott Bl. Dwarf xvi, The door opened, and the Solitary stood before her. a 1854 H. Reed Lect. Brit. Poets vi. (1857) 224 His [Milton's] life..as a student, as a statesman, and as a solitary. 1898 Westm. Gaz. 24 Mar. 4/1 Hardy pioneers, solitaries who had lived on far-off creeks.

    † 2. A solitude, lonely place. Obs.

1594 Peele Battle of Alcazar ii. iii, I will go hunt these cursed solitaries.

    † 3. = solitaire n. 5 a. Obs. rare.

1708 tr. F. Leguet's Voy. Rodriguez, etc. (Hakl. Soc.) I. 64 We left the Dates for the Turtles and other Birds, particularly the Solitaries. Ibid. 77–80.

    4. = solitaire n. 3. Also attrib.

1798 M. & R. L. Edgeworth Pract. Educ. i. I. 20 At the solitary-board they must..fix their attention solely upon the figure and the pegs before them. 1806 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life xvi. (1807) 94 For want of better employment, playing at Solitary.

▪ II. solitary, a.
    (ˈsɒlɪtərɪ)
    Also 4–6 solytarie, 5–6 -ary(e; 4–7 solitarie, 5 -arye; 6 soletary.
    [ad. L. sōlitārius, f. sōlus alone; hence also It., Sp., Pg. solitario, F. solitaire (see solitaire a.).]
    1. a. Quite alone or unaccompanied; destitute or deprived of the society of others.

a 1340 Hampole Psalter ci. 8, I am made as sparow solitary in þe hous. 1382 Wyclif Esther xiv. 3 My Lord, that art king alone, help me solitarie. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1576, I salle disseuere that sorte,..And sett theme fulle solytarie. c 1407 Lydg. Reson & Sens. 3060 So ful I am of discomfort,..Fro day to day most ful of moone, Solytarye and allone. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 2780 Whan she was solytary, and no man there present. 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 173 What one of these solytarie wanderers dyd. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1650) II. 121, I am ofttimes sole, but seldom solitary. 1770 Goldsm. Des. Vill. 129 All but yon widow'd solitary thing [is fled]. 1797 Wordsw. Old Cumberland Beggar 44 He travels on, a solitary Man; His age has no companion. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lii, He did not know how solitary he was until little Rawdon was gone. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola xiv, He foresaw himself wandering away solitary in pursuit of some unknown fortune.

absol. 1560 Bible (Geneva) Psalm lxviii. 6 God maketh the solitarie to dwell in families. 1872 O. W. Holmes Poet Breakf.-t. ix, When the solitary, whose hearts are shrivelling, are not set in families!

    b. Keeping apart or aloof from society; avoiding the company of others; living alone.

c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 507 Solitary he was, and euer alone. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xviii. 7 Þer were suche eremites Solitarie by hem-self and in here selles lyueden. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 923 Contemplatyf peple that desyre to be Solytary seruauntes vnto God alone. c 1440 Alph. Tales 477, I saw Saynt Theon sparrid in a cell, solitarie, as it was sayd, xxxti yere. 1557 North Gueuara's Diall Pr. 384 There are some so solytary that woulde never be visited. 1592 T. Nashe P. Penilesse (ed. 2) 9 Some thinke to be counted rare Politicians and Statesmen, by beeing solitary. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. i. i. v. 16 We call any man Melancholy, that is dull,..ill-disposed, solitary. 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 461 Those rare and solitarie, these in flocks Pasturing at once. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 948 The solitary saint Walks forth to meditate at even tide. 1875 Whitney Life Lang. xiv. 286 The solitary man is as speechless as the lower animals.

transf. 1727 Bailey (vol. II), Solitariness,..a solitary Humour.

    c. Standing alone or by itself; not accompanied or paralleled in any way.

a 1633 J. Austin Medit. (1635) 263 All three are solitarie. The Guide is but one; the Traveller, one; the Way, one. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 139 Who..with solitarie hand..Unaided could have finisht thee. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 75 ¶1 The result, not of solitary conjecture, but of practice and experience. 1806 Beresford Miseries Hum. Life i. Introd. 7 In disputation, the argument cumulative..is admitted to be at least as pressing as the argument solitary. 1850 W. R. Williams Relig. Progr. (1854) ii. 40 Unbelief does not dwell alone, a solitary and sterile sin. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits iv, Any the least and solitariest fact in our natural history.

    d. With a, one, etc.: Single; sole.

1742 Gray Spring 44 Poor moralist! and what art thou? A solitary fly. 1769 Junius Lett. xxvii. (1788) 150 He gives but seven solitary lines to the only subject which can deserve his attention. 1802 Gouv. Morris in Sparks Life & Writ. (1832) III. 160, I believe it is a solitary instance. 1830 Cruikshank Man in Black i, Not a sous have I in the world besides that solitary five franc piece. 1890 Science Gossip XXVI. 49 With one solitary exception the nebular hypothesis explains all.

    e. solitary wave, a travelling, non-dissipative wave which is neither preceded nor followed by another such disturbance.

[1837 J. S. Russell in Trans. R. Soc. Edin. (1840) XIV. 61 This accumulated mass..appeared to roll forward alone along the surface of the quiescent fluid, a large, solitary, progressive wave.] 1838 Russell & Robison in Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci. 1837 418 This wave had been called the great solitary wave of the fluid. 1876 Phil. Mag. I. 262 The very different behaviour of solitary waves according as they are positive or negative... In the former case, the wave has a remarkable permanence, being propagated to great distances without much loss. 1899 [see equivoluminal a.]. 1952 Russell & Macmillan Waves & Tides i. ii. 44 The velocity of solitary waves of small height is: √[g(depth of water + wave height)]. 1976 Nature 8 Apr. 510/2 Figure 2a and b shows typical streamline patterns for waves corresponding to solitary waves of elevation (E solitons) and of depression (D solitons).

    2. Of places: Marked by solitude; remote, unfrequented, secluded, lonely.

c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. i. pr. iii. (1868) 10 Whi art þou comen in to þis solitarie place of myn exil. c 1393 ― Envoy to Scogan 46, I am..Forgete in solitarie wildirnes. 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 36 That neythyr I, ner Seynt Felycyte In solytarye place lengere lefth be. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon xxv. 72 She sawe my mother..in a soletary place. a 1548 Hall Chron., Rich. III, 22 He sodaynly turned into a solitary wood next adioyning. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. 269 On the north side whereof standeth solitarie a very faire Chappell. 1687 T. Brown Saints in Uproar Wks. 1730 I. 81 We retir'd into a wood, and in this wood found out a most solitary cave. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 87 They keep chiefly in the most solitary and inaccessible places. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 534 They sent an embassy to a solitary retreat on the shores of Lake Leman. 1873 W. Black Pr. Thule 4 He drove down the hill to the solitary little inn.

    3. Characterized by the absence of all companionship or society: a. Of actions.

1382 Wyclif Ps. Heading, The boc begynneth of ympnes and solitarie spechis of the profete Dauyd, of Cryst. c 1645 Howell Lett. ii. (1892) I. 443, I was upon point of going abroad to steal a solitary walk. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 632 Satan..toward the Gates of Hell Explores his solitary flight. 1714 Wheatley Bk. Com. Prayer (ed. 2) vi. §29 To prevent the Solitary Masses which had been introduc'd by the Church of Rome. 1785 Reid Intell. Powers i. viii. 244 Some operations of our minds, from their very nature, are solitary. 1801 Strutt Sports & Past. iv. ii. 281 The solitary game is so denominated because it is played by one person only. 1845 Ford Handbk. Spain i. 48 A long solitary ride is hardly to be recommended. 1896 Baden-Powell Matabele Campaign iv, The value of solitary scouting does not seem to be sufficiently realized among us nowadays.

    b. Of life or conditions.

1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. 38 Foloweris of holy faderis whech lyued in solitarie lif. c 1491 Chast. Goddes Chyld. 42 Uneth there were ony that mighte abyde in solitarye liuynge. 1538 Starkey England ii. ii. 189 In the wych..they schold more profyt..then our monkys haue downe in grete processe of tyme in theyr solytary lyfe. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 16 In respect that it is solitary, I like it verie well: but in respect that it is priuate, it is a very vild life. 1697 Dryden æneid vi. 1038 Him fair Lavinia..Shall breed in groves, to lead a solitary life. 1736 Butler Anal. i. v. Wks. 1874 I. 95 Nothing which we at present see would lead us to the thought of a solitary unactive state hereafter. 1791 Cowper Iliad xi. 98 Seated in solitary pomp. 1817 Sir F. Burdett in Parl. Deb. 1858 It was much worse to stand in hourly danger of solitary confinement at the caprice or malice of a Minister of State. 1845 M{supc}Culloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) II. 501 The ideas which are generally attached to the term ‘solitary confinement’.

Comb. 1828 Cunningham N.S. Wales II. 298 All jails have solitary-punishment cells.

    c. ellipt. = Solitary confinement.

1854 Dickens Hard T. v, A. B.,..committed for eighteen months' solitary. 1916 J. Buchan Greenmantle v. 62 There was nothing the Boche liked so much as an excuse for sending a poor devil to ‘solitary’. 1924 W. M. Raine Troubled Waters xxvi. 262 ‘He's been in solitary for a week,’ explained the warden. 1963 M. Duggan in C. K. Stead N.Z. Short Stories (1966) 101 Bread and water and solitary and take that writ on his eyeballs. 1978 T. Allbeury Lantern Net xi. 164, I visited prisoners in solitary every other day.

    4. Zool. In names of various insects, birds, etc., which live alone or in pairs only, as solitary bee, solitary cuckoo, solitary dodo, etc.

1830 Insect Transformations 50 A small *solitary bee, (Chelostoma florisomne?) not so large as the domestic fly. 1840 Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 599 The Solitary Bees have never more than the two ordinary kinds of individuals, males and females. 1881 Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 367 The Solitary Bees..form the remainder of the family.

1815 Stephens in Shaw's Gen. Zool. IX. i. 84 *Solitary Cuckow.

1785 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds III. i. 3 *Solitary Dodo..is a large bird. 1829 Griffith tr. Cuvier VIII. 446 All those monstrous birds called..Dodo, Solitary Dodo, and Nazarene Dodo.

1810 A. Wilson Amer. Ornith. II. 143 *Solitary Flycatcher, Muscicapa solitaria. 1831 Audubon Ornith. Biog. I. 147 The Solitary Fly-catcher, or Vireo, Vireo solitarius.

1884 Coues N. Amer. Birds 333 Vireo solitarius,..*Solitary Greenlet.

1787 Latham Suppl. Gen. Syn. Birds I. 65 *Solitary Parrot. Size of a Starling.

1813 A. Wilson Amer. Ornith. VII. 53 *Solitary Sandpiper, Tringa solitaria. 1839 Audubon Ornith. Biog. V. 583 Solitary Sandpiper, Totanus Chloropygius.

1843 Yarrell Brit. Birds II. 597 Scolopax major, *Solitary Snipe. 1887 Newton in Encycl. Brit. XXII. 202/2 The Double or Solitary Snipe of English sportsmen,..a larger species.

1600 Surflet Countrie Farme vii. lxii. 892 The *solitarie sparrow is by nature giuen to be melancholike. 1678 Ray tr. Willughby's Ornith. ii. ii. i. xviii. 191 The solitary Sparrow..is of the bigness of a Blackbird. 1743 Edwards Nat. Hist. Birds I. 18.

1872 Coues N. Amer. Birds 259 *Solitary Tattler,..a shy, quiet inhabitant of wet woods. 1884 Ibid. 639 Rhyacophilus solitarius, Solitary Tattler.

1783 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds II. i. 52 *Solitary Thrush..frequents mountains and rocky places. 1813 Montagu Ornith. Suppl. s.v., Solitary Thrush, Turdus solitarius. [Cf. Rennie's ed. (1831) 56–58.] 1876–82 Newton Yarrell's Brit. Birds II. 242 note, The real ‘Solitary Thrush’, Monticola cyanus.

1831 Audubon Ornith. Biog. I. 147 The *Solitary.. Vireo, Vireo solitarius. 1872 Coues N. Amer. Birds 121 Blue-headed, or Solitary Vireo.

1830 Insect Transformations 54 Their most formidable enemy is a *solitary wasp (Cerceris ornata). 1896 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. VI. 40 Of the typical solitary wasps (Masaridæ)..but little is known.

1730 Bailey (fol.), *Solitary-Worm, a Worm in the Intestines, or..in the Pylorus.

    5. Bot. Of parts or of plants: Growing singly or separately; not forming clusters or masses.

(a) 1796 Withering Brit. Pl. I. 232 Seeds solitary, compressed. Ibid. III. 737 Flowers solitary, terminating. 1807 J. E. Smith Phys. Bot. 420 Bearing..flowers in a peculiar spike, which is either solitary or double. 1837 P. Keith Bot. Lex. 30 They [sc. the bracts] are solitary, or in pairs, or multiplicate. 1880 Bessey Botany 428 Flowers solitary in the axils of the leaves—e.g., Vinca, Solitary Axillary. Ibid. 429 Solitary Terminal.

Comb. 1866 Treas. Bot. 910/1 Solitary-flowered axillary peduncles.

(b) 1837 P. Keith Bot. Lex. 159 The mushrooms are found solitary or in small patches. 1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 45 Plants of this kind are called solitary, while those which grow in immense masses are said to be social.

    6. Of ascidians: Simple; not compound.

1843 Penny Cycl. XXV. 353/2 This metamorphosis was observed..both in a solitary and compound Ascidian.

    7. Anat. Single, separate; not multiple.

1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 796 The ‘solitary bundle’ or ascending vago-glosso-pharyngeal root. 1905 Rolleston Dis. Liver 124 Ten solitary abscesses of the liver.

    Hence † ˈsolitary v., to seclude. Obs.

1581 G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) 9 To reape the fruits of those labours, it behoueth him to solitarie himselfe from sinne.

Oxford English Dictionary