Solar

How to spell solar

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce solar

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does solar mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to, derived from, or powered by the sun.

Solar in a sentence

• They installed solar panels on the roof to cut the electricity bill.

• The solar system contains eight planets orbiting the sun.

Where does solar come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin sol, which simply meant 'the sun', the same root that gives us 'solstice' and the name of the Roman sun god, Sol. From sol the Latin language formed the adjective solaris, meaning 'of or belonging to the sun'. English took the word in during the late Middle Ages, around the 1400s, originally in technical and astronomical contexts such as the 'solar year' measured by the sun's motion. Over the centuries its use broadened, and in the modern era it attached firmly to energy from the sun, giving us 'solar panel' and 'solar power'. The spelling stays close to its Latin parent: a single 'l' and the tidy '-ar' ending, with no doubled letters or silent traps to catch the writer out.

How the word is built

• sol (from Latin sol: sun)
• -ar (adjective suffix meaning 'relating to')