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Origin and history of sole

sole(n.1)

"bottom of the human foot" ("technically, the planta, corresponding to the palm of the hand," Century Dictionary), early 14c., from Old French sole, from Vulgar Latin *sola, from Latin solea "sandal, bottom of a shoe; a flatfish," from solum "bottom, ground, foundation, lowest point of a thing" (hence "sole of the foot"), a word of uncertain origin.

De Vaan has it from a PIE *se/ol-o- "place, habitation, human settlement," with cognates in Lithuanian sala "island, field surrounded by meadows, village;" Old Church Slavonic selo "field, courtyard, village," obsolete Polish siolo, Russian selo "village;" Old High German sal "habitation, room;" Old Norse salr "hall, room, house."

In English, the meaning "bottom of a shoe or boot" is from late 14c.

also from early 14c.

sole(adj.)

"single, alone in its kind; one and only, singular, unique; having no husband or wife, in an unmarried state; celibate," late 14c., from Old French soul "only, alone, just," from Latin solus "alone, only, single, sole; forsaken; extraordinary," a word of unknown origin, perhaps related to se "oneself," from PIE reflexive root *swo- (for which see so).

also from late 14c.

sole(n.2)

common European flatfish, mid-13c., from Old French sole, from Latin solea, a kind of flatfish, originally "sandal" (see sole (n.1)). So called from resemblance of the fish to a flat shoe.

also from mid-13c.

sole(v.)

"furnish (a shoe or boot) with a sole," 1560s, from sole (n.1). Related: Soled; soling.

also from 1560s

Entries linking to sole

so(adv., conj.)

Middle English so, from Old English swa, swæ (adv., conj., pron.) "in this way, in such a manner that," also "to that extent; so as, consequently, therefore," and purely intensive; from Proto-Germanic *swa (source also of Old Saxon, Middle Dutch, Old High German so, Old Norse sva, Danish saa, Swedish så, Old Frisian sa, Dutch zo, German so "so," Gothic swa "as"), from PIE reflexive pronominal stem *swo- "so" (source also of Greek hos "as," Old Latin suad "so," Latin se "himself"), derivative of *s(w)e-, pronoun of the third person and reflexive (see idiom).

Old English swa frequently was strengthened by eall, and so also is contained in compounds as, also, such. The -w- was crushed out by contraction from 12c.; compare two, which underwent the same process but retained its spelling.

As a word confirming a previous statement, late Old English; also from late Old English as an intensive in an affirmative clause (such as so very "exceedingly, extremely"). As an "introductory particle" [OED] from 1590s. Used to add emphasis or contradict a negative from 1913. So in mid-20c. British slang could mean "homosexual" (adj.).

So? as a term of dismissal is attested from 1886 (short for is that so?, etc.); it is older as an abbreviation of is it so? (1803). So what as an exclamation of indifference dates from 1934.

The abbreviating phrase and so forth is attested in Old English; and so on is attested from 1724. So far "at such a distance" was in Middle English; so far so good is from 1721, said then to be a Scottish proverb.

desolate(adj.)

mid-14c., of persons, "disconsolate, miserable, overwhelmed with grief, deprived of comfort;" late 14c., of persons, "without companions, solitary, lonely;" also, of places, "uninhabited, abandoned," from Latin desolatus, past participle of desolare "leave alone, desert," from de- "completely" (see de-) + solare "make lonely," from solus "alone" (see sole (adj.)). Related: Desolately; desolateness.