solace

[sol-is] /ˈsɒl ɪs/
noun, Also called solacement
1.
comfort in sorrow, misfortune, or trouble; alleviation of distress or discomfort.
2.
something that gives comfort, consolation, or relief:
The minister's visit was the dying man's only solace.
verb (used with object), solaced, solacing.
3.
to comfort, console, or cheer (a person, oneself, the heart, etc.).
4.
to alleviate or relieve (sorrow, distress, etc.).
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English solas < Old French < Latin sōlācium, equivalent to sōl(ārī) to comfort + -āc- adj. suffix + -ium -ium
Related forms
solacer, noun
unsolaced, adjective
unsolacing, adjective
Examples from the web for solace
  • Billions of people find comfort and solace and peace.
  • They gave him stories from history and also solace during his long recovery from polio.
  • It was, he told her, the only song that could bring them solace.
  • Sometimes a moment of laughter gives a solace in their life.
  • Hoping for solace, she described this dream to her grandfather, a wise and highly respected elder.
  • Against this backdrop, it is perhaps quite reasonable for people to find solace in familiar foods.
  • Though it might be small solace to springtime sneezers, a new study shows grains of pollen to be biomechanical marvels.
  • There is nothing so disagreeable, that a patient mind can not find some solace for it.
  • And when the emperor and the king were set at meat, the emperor welcomed him with all the cheer and solace that he could.
  • Hunting a vanishing light, and a solace for joy too deep.
British Dictionary definitions for solace

solace

/ˈsɒlɪs/
noun
1.
comfort in misery, disappointment, etc
2.
something that gives comfort or consolation
verb (transitive)
3.
to give comfort or cheer to (a person) in time of sorrow, distress, etc
4.
to alleviate (sorrow, misery, etc)
Derived Forms
solacer, noun
Word Origin
C13: from Old French solas, from Latin sōlātium comfort, from sōlārī to console
Word Origin and History for solace
n.

"comfort in grief, consolation," late 13c., from Old French solaz "pleasure, entertainment, enjoyment; solace, comfort," from Latin solacium "a soothing, assuaging; comfort, consolation," from solatus, past participle of solari "to console, soothe," from PIE *sol-a-, suffixed form of root *sele- "of good mood; to favor" (cf. Old English gesælig "happy;" see silly). Adjectival form solacious is attested 16c.-17c.

v.

"comfort, console in grief," late 13c.; also in Middle English "entertain, amuse, please," from Old French solacier "comfort, console" (often with a sexual connotation) and directly from Medieval Latin solatiare "give solace, console" (source also of Spanish solazar, Italian sollazzare), from Latin solacium (see solace (n.)). Related: Solaced; solacing.