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solitude (n.)
"state of being alone, remoteness from society," mid-14c., from Old French solitude "loneliness" (14c.) and directly from Latin solitudinem (nominative solitudo) "loneliness, a being alone; lonely place, desert, wilderness," from solus "alone" (see sole (adj.)). "Not in common use in English until the 17th c." [OED]
A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; ... if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free. [Schopenhauer, "The World as Will and Idea," 1818]
Solitudinarian "recluse, unsocial person" is recorded from 1690s.
updated on March 04, 2023
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Dictionary entries near solitude
soliloquy
solipsism
solipsistic
solitaire
solitary
solitude
solmization
solo
soloist
Solomon
Solomonic