Middle English Dictionary Entry
sō̆litūde n.
Entry Info
| Forms | sō̆litūde n. |
| Etymology | OF solitude & L sōlitūdo. |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
1.
(a) The state of being alone, solitude; (b) a secluded area.
Associated quotations
a
- (?a1439) Lydg.FP (Bod 263)3.3815 : Swich as men loue, such thyng þei vndirtake..Caused poetes..Out of al pres to lyue in solitude.
- a1450(?1348) Rolle FLiving (Cmb Dd.5.64)90/23 : Þe state þat þou ert in, þat es solitude, es maste abyll of all othyr til revelacion of þe Haly Gaste.
- c1450(c1385) Chaucer Mars (Benson-Robinson)65 : Her knyght..dwelleth in solitude til she come.
- c1450(c1400) Vices & V.(2) (Hnt HM 147)141/10 : Þus bigynneþ þe soule to lerne to be alone, þat clerkes clepeþ solitude.
b
- (a1398) *Trev.Barth.(Add 27944)193b/b : Þe Gascoignes..wonen by þe longe and large solitude of þe mounte of Pyrennea.