solace means comfort or consolation in a time of loneliness or distress. It carries an Arena rating of 2004, earned across 24 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, solace ranks #91 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #266 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #1,051 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,364 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
solace is pronounced /ˈsɒl.ɪs/.
Why “solace” is a great word
Comfort or consolation in a time of distress, or the act of providing such comfort. From Old French solas ("comfort, pleasure"), from Latin sōlācium ("consolation"), from sōlārī ("to console, soothe"), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *selh₂- ("mercy, comfort"), first attested in English c. 1300. Unlike "consolation," which is offered specifically for a loss, or "relief," which denotes the mere lifting of a burden, solace is the quiet warmth that flows into the space left behind. It is the weight of a familiar cat in your lap, the taste of tea in a still kitchen at dawn, or the way an old song heard through an open window can momentarily halt the machinery of grief—less an answer to sorrow than the slow, tender stitching of presence into absence.
Etymology
From Old French solas, from Latin sōlācium (“consolation”), root from Proto-Indo-European *selh₂- (“mercy, comfort”).
noun
- Comfort or consolation in a time of loneliness or distress.e.g.“You cannot put a monetary value on emotional solace.”
- A source of comfort or consolation.e.g.“September 25, 1750, Samuel Johnson, The Rambler
The proper solaces of age are not music and compliments, but wisdom and devotion.”
verb
- To give solace to; comfort; cheer; console.
- To allay or assuage.
- To take comfort; to be cheered.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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