Post History
I don't understand the semantic shift from sollicitāre ‘disturb, agitate’ to the meaning of "manage affairs", probably because "disturb, agitate" pejoratively connotes discontentment and upheaval, ...
Question
etymology
#2: Post edited
by
PSTH
·
2021-03-29T07:43:06Z (over 3 years ago)
I don't understand the semantic shift from _sollicitāre_‘disturb, agitate’ to the meaning of "manage affairs", probably because "disturb, agitate" pejoratively connotes discontentment and upheaval, but "manage affairs" neutrally (or even positively) connotes business or transactions. So this shift in connotation also baffles me.- For example, in some Commonwealth countries' split legal profession, [a "solicitor"](https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/law-careers/barristers-chambers/barrister-vs-solicitor-which-one-is-for-me-) signifies a lawyer for non-contentious matters who provides [general advice](https://legalvision.com.au/difference-lawyer-solicitor-barrister/). A solicitor doesn't "disturb, agitate" in 2021 English meanings of these verbs.
- >### solicit [15]
- >The ultimate source of solicit is Latin
- _sollicitus_ ‘agitated’, which also gave English
- solicitous [16]. It was a compound adjective,
- formed from _sollus _‘whole’ (source also of
- English _solemn_) and _citus_, the past participle of
- _ciēre_ ‘move’ (source of English _cite_, _excite_, etc)
- – hence literally ‘completely moved’. From it
- was formed the verb _sollicitāre_‘disturb, agitate’,
- which passed into English via Old French
- _solliciter_. **By the time it arrived it had acquired
- the additional meaning ‘manage affairs’, which
- lies behind the derived _solicitor_ [15]**; and the
- original ‘disturb’ (which has since died out) gave
- rise in the 16th century to ‘trouble with
- requests’.
- French _insouciant_, borrowed by English in
- the 19th century, goes back ultimately to Latin
- _sollicitāre_.
- *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 467 Left column.
- I don't understand the semantic shift from _sollicitāre_ ‘disturb, agitate’ to the meaning of "manage affairs", probably because "disturb, agitate" pejoratively connotes discontentment and upheaval, but "manage affairs" neutrally (or even positively) connotes business or transactions. So this shift in connotation also baffles me.
- For example, in some Commonwealth countries' split legal profession, [a "solicitor"](https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/law-careers/barristers-chambers/barrister-vs-solicitor-which-one-is-for-me-) signifies a lawyer for non-contentious matters who provides [general advice](https://legalvision.com.au/difference-lawyer-solicitor-barrister/). A solicitor doesn't "disturb, agitate" in 2021 English meanings of these verbs.
- >### solicit [15]
- >The ultimate source of solicit is Latin
- _sollicitus_ ‘agitated’, which also gave English
- solicitous [16]. It was a compound adjective,
- formed from _sollus _‘whole’ (source also of
- English _solemn_) and _citus_, the past participle of
- _ciēre_ ‘move’ (source of English _cite_, _excite_, etc)
- – hence literally ‘completely moved’. From it
- was formed the verb _sollicitāre_‘disturb, agitate’,
- which passed into English via Old French
- _solliciter_. **By the time it arrived it had acquired
- the additional meaning ‘manage affairs’, which
- lies behind the derived _solicitor_ [15]**; and the
- original ‘disturb’ (which has since died out) gave
- rise in the 16th century to ‘trouble with
- requests’.
- French _insouciant_, borrowed by English in
- the 19th century, goes back ultimately to Latin
- _sollicitāre_.
- *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 467 Left column.
#1: Initial revision
by
PSTH
·
2021-03-25T23:59:29Z (over 3 years ago)
How did 'solicit' semantically shift to signify ‘manage affairs’?
I don't understand the semantic shift from _sollicitāre_‘disturb, agitate’ to the meaning of "manage affairs", probably because "disturb, agitate" pejoratively connotes discontentment and upheaval, but "manage affairs" neutrally (or even positively) connotes business or transactions. So this shift in connotation also baffles me. For example, in some Commonwealth countries' split legal profession, [a "solicitor"](https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/law-careers/barristers-chambers/barrister-vs-solicitor-which-one-is-for-me-) signifies a lawyer for non-contentious matters who provides [general advice](https://legalvision.com.au/difference-lawyer-solicitor-barrister/). A solicitor doesn't "disturb, agitate" in 2021 English meanings of these verbs. >### solicit [15] >The ultimate source of solicit is Latin _sollicitus_ ‘agitated’, which also gave English solicitous [16]. It was a compound adjective, formed from _sollus _‘whole’ (source also of English _solemn_) and _citus_, the past participle of _ciēre_ ‘move’ (source of English _cite_, _excite_, etc) – hence literally ‘completely moved’. From it was formed the verb _sollicitāre_‘disturb, agitate’, which passed into English via Old French _solliciter_. **By the time it arrived it had acquired the additional meaning ‘manage affairs’, which lies behind the derived _solicitor_ [15]**; and the original ‘disturb’ (which has since died out) gave rise in the 16th century to ‘trouble with requests’. French _insouciant_, borrowed by English in the 19th century, goes back ultimately to Latin _sollicitāre_. *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 467 Left column.