Advertisement

solitude (n.)

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.

Others are reading

Advertisement
Definitions of solitude from WordNet

solitude (n.)
a state of social isolation;
Synonyms: purdah
solitude (n.)
the state or situation of being alone;
solitude (n.)
a solitary place;
From wordnet.princeton.edu