Solicitous

WORD OF THE DAY


solicitous \ suh-LIS-uh-tus \ adjective


Definition
1a: showing attentive care or protectiveness
1b: manifesting or expressing solicitude
2a: full of concern or fears
2b: apprehensive
3: meticulously careful
4a: full of desire
4b: eager


Examples
Lyle has developed a reputation as one of the best tailors in the area because he is solicitous of his customers and their needs.


"Any given meal included a plethora of delectable choices, including barbecued ribs, schnitzel, ice cream and German chocolate cake, served up by solicitous staff."
— Erica Rosenberg, The Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2016


Did You Know?
If you're solicitous about learning the connections between words, you'll surely want to know about the relationship between solicitous and another word you've probably heard before—solicit. Solicitous doesn't come from solicit, but the two words are related. They both have their roots in the Latin word sollicitus, meaning "anxious." Solicitous itself came directly from this Latin word, whereas solicit made its way to English with a few more steps. From sollicitus came the Latin verb sollicitare, meaning "to disturb, agitate, move, or entreat." Forms of this verb were borrowed into Anglo-French, and then Middle English, and have survived in Modern English as solicit.