Solemn

How to spell solemn

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce solemn

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does solemn mean?

1. adjectiveFormal, dignified, and serious in character or manner, often with a sense of gravity or ceremony.

Solemn in a sentence

• The guests stood in solemn silence as the ceremony began.

• He made a solemn promise to repay every penny he had borrowed.

Where does solemn come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Solemn descends from the Latin sollemnis, an adjective that described something performed at a fixed yearly time and therefore done with full religious ceremony. The root is generally linked to sollus, meaning 'whole' or 'entire', so the original idea was of a rite carried out completely and correctly according to custom. By the later Middle Ages the word had passed through Old French as solemne or solempne and entered English in the 1300s, at first describing sacred ceremonies and observances before broadening to mean grave, dignified, or serious in manner. The clue to the tricky spelling lies in that Latin ending: English kept the written -n even though the voice does not pronounce it, which is why solemn behaves like its cousins 'autumn', 'column', and 'hymn'. Remembering that family of silent-n words is the easiest way to stop yourself writing 'solem'.

How the word is built

• solemn (from Latin sollemnis: ceremonial, religious) treated as a single root in English; note the silent final -n that survives from the Latin spelling