solemn

English

WOTD – 10 March 2021

Etymology

From Middle English solempne, solemne (“performed with religious ceremony or reverence; devoted to religious observances, sacred; ceremonious, formal; of a vow: made under a religious sanction, binding; religious celebration, celebration of a feast day; famous, well-known; important; grand, imposing; awe-inspiring, impressive; grave, serious; dignified; enunciated or held formally”) [and other forms],[1] from Old French solempne, solemne (“serious, solemn”) [and other forms], or from its etymon Late Latin sōlempnis, sōlennis, from Latin sōlemnis, from sollemnis (“appointed, established, fixed; common, customary, ordinary, ritual, traditional, usual; ceremonial, religious, solemn; festive; annual, yearly”) [and other forms]. The further etymology is uncertain;[2] sollus (“entire, whole”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- (“whole”)) + epulum (“banquet, feast”) (in the sense of a ritual; perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ed- (“to eat”)) has been suggested.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈsɒləm/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈsɑləm/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɒləm
  • Hyphenation: sol‧emn

Adjective

solemn (comparative solemner or more solemn, superlative solemnest or most solemn)

  1. (religion, specifically Christianity) Of or pertaining to religious ceremonies and rites; (generally) religious in nature; sacred.
  2. (by extension)
    1. Characterized by or performed with appropriate or great ceremony or formality.
    2. Deeply serious and sombre; grave.
      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:serious
      Antonyms: lighthearted, unserious
    3. Inspiring serious feelings or thoughts; sombrely impressive.
      Synonym: awe-inspiring
    4. (obsolete) Cheerless, gloomy, sombre.
      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:cheerless
      Antonyms: cheerful; see also Thesaurus:blissful

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. “solempne, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. “solemn, adj. (adv. and n.)”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1913; “solemn, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

Anagrams

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sollemnis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /soˈlemn/

Adjective

solemn m or n (feminine singular solemnă, masculine plural solemni, feminine and neuter plural solemne)

  1. solemn, grave, serious
    Synonyms: grav, serios
  2. impressive, exalted
  3. festive, celebratory
    Synonyms: festiv, sărbătoresc

Declension

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