Solace and Console Comfort From the Same Root
Solace is comfort in distress. The Latin verb behind it also gave English console, consolation and disconsolate.
Solace is comfort in sorrow, or the thing that provides it. Latin *solari*, to comfort, produced two lines in English: *solace* came through French and stayed literary, while *console* arrived later straight from Latin and does the everyday work. A doublet pair like this often splits by register, one formal and one plain.
- Comfort in distress. *She found solace in music.*
- A source of comfort. *His garden was his only solace.*
- Verb, to comfort. *Nothing could solace him.*
- Solace in — the usual preposition. *Solace in work.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | solace | Cold solace. |
| Verb | solace | To solace the bereaved. |
| Doublet | console | He consoled her. |
| Related | consolation | A consolation prize. |
| Related | disconsolate | A disconsolate crowd. |
- He took solace in long walks.The commonest pattern.
- There is little solace in being proved right.Slightly bitter tone.
- Her letters solaced him through the winter.The verb, now rare.
Solace, comfort, consolation
- Solace — literary, often solitary and quiet
- Comfort — the everyday word, physical or emotional
- Consolation — usually about a specific loss
- Reassurance — about fear rather than grief
- Succour — help in hardship, now archaic
Old French *solas*, from Latin *solacium*, comfort, from *solari*, to console. English has used it since the 1300s.
Is solace formal?
Yes, noticeably. In ordinary speech people say comfort; solace belongs to writing and to more solemn occasions.
Are solace and console related?
Yes. Both come from Latin solari, to comfort, by different routes into English.