solitaire

C2+ Topic:Sports & Fitness

US /ˈsɑləˌtɛr/ UK /ˈsɒlɪtɛə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a single-player card game, or a single gem set alone

She played solitaire to pass the long evening.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a single-player card game,... patience diamond gem

Word family

Related forms solitary solitude sole

Etymology

Borrowed from French solitaire ('solitary, a recluse'), from Latin sōlitārius ('alone, solitary'), from sōlus ('alone'). The card-game and single-gem senses reflect the notion of a single element set apart.

solitaire French sōlitārius Latin sōlus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Sports & Fitness

External links

# solitaire

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈsɑləˌtɛr/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsɒlɪtɛə/

## Meanings
1. a single-player card game, or a single gem set alone

## Examples
- She played solitaire to pass the long evening.

## Synonyms
- patience
- diamond
- gem

## Related Forms
- solitary
- solitude
- sole

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: solitaire
- Root: sōlitārius
- Root: sōlus

## Etymology
Borrowed from French solitaire ('solitary, a recluse'), from Latin sōlitārius ('alone, solitary'), from sōlus ('alone'). The card-game and single-gem senses reflect the notion of a single element set apart.

## AI Etymology
Solitaire was borrowed from French solitaire ('solitary, a recluse'), from Latin sōlitārius ('alone, solitary'), from sōlus ('alone'). The card-game and single-gem senses reflect the notion of a single element set apart. The historical chain includes French solitaire, Latin sōlitārius, and Latin sōlus. The quoted older senses, "solitary, a recluse", "alone, solitary", and "alone", supply the semantic anchors for solitaire. The formation is best read as borrowed: the word solitaire carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "a single-player card game, or a single gem set alone". Related English forms include solitary, solitude, and sole. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Sports & Fitness

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