solo

See also: Appendix:Variations of "solo"

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian solo, from Latin sōlus, probably related to se (“himself”).

Pronunciation

• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈsoʊ.loʊ/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsəʊ.ləʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: (US, Canada) -oʊloʊ, (UK) -əʊləʊ

English numbers ^(edit)

		10
		1	2  → [a], [b], [c]	10  →
Cardinal: one     Ordinal: first     Abbreviated ordinal: 1st     Latinate ordinal: primary     Reverse order ordinal: last     Latinate reverse order ordinal: ultimate     Adverbial: one time, once     Multiplier: onefold     Latinate multiplier: single     Distributive: singly     Germanic collective: onesome     Collective of n parts: singlet, singleton     Greek or Latinate collective: monad     Greek collective prefix: mono-     Latinate collective prefix: uni-     Fractional: whole     Elemental: singlet, singleton     Greek prefix: proto-     Number of musicians: solo     Number of years: year

Noun

solo (plural solos or soli)

1. (music) A piece of music for one performer.
2. A job or performance done by one person alone.
3. (games) A card game similar to whist in which each player plays against the others in turn without a partner
4. A single shot of espresso.
5. (Gaelic football) An instance of soloing the football.

Coordinate terms

• (coffee): doppio, triplo (rare)

Translations

piece of music for one

• Armenian: մեներգ (hy) (menerg)
• Bulgarian: соло n (solo)
• Catalan: solo (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 獨奏 / 独奏 (zh) (dúzòu), 獨唱 / 独唱 (zh) (dúchàn)

• Czech: sólo (cs)
• Dutch: solo (nl)
• Esperanto: solo (eo), soloo
• Finnish: soolo (fi)
• French: solo (fr) m
• German: Solo (de) n
• Greek: σόλο (el) n (sólo)
• Irish: aonréad m
• Italian: assolo (it) m, solo (it) m
• Japanese: ソロ (ja) (soro), 独奏 (ja) (どくそう, dokusō), 独唱 (ja) (どくしょう, dokushō)
• Maori: hianga
• Norman: solo m
• Polish: solo (pl) n, solówka (pl) f
• Portuguese: solo (pt) m
• Romanian: solo (ro)
• Russian: со́ло (ru) n (sólo)
• Spanish: solo (es) m
• Swedish: solo (sv) n
• Vietnamese: độc tấu (vi)(獨奏), độc xướng (vi) (獨唱)
• Welsh: unawd m or f

job or performance done by one person

• Dutch: solo (nl)
• Finnish: soolo (fi)
• French: solo (fr) m
• Galician: solo (gl), só (gl)
• German: Solo (de) n
• Greek: σόλο (el) n (sólo)
• Italian: in solitaria, da solo
• Maori: hīanga
• Norman: solo m
• Portuguese: solo (pt) m
• Romanian: solo (ro)
• Spanish: aria (es) f, romanza (es) f
• Swedish: solo (sv) n
• Vietnamese: một mình (vi)

card game

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 惠斯特紙牌戲 / 惠斯特纸牌戏 (huìsītè zhǐpáixì)

• Dutch: solo (nl)
• Finnish: soolo (fi)
• French: please add this translation if you can
• German: Solo (de) n
• Italian: solitario (it) m
• Spanish: solitario (es) m

Adjective

solo (not comparable)

1. Without a companion or instructor.
2. (music) Of, or relating to, a musical solo.

Translations

without a companion or instructor

• Bulgarian: единичен (bg) (ediničen), самостоятелен (bg) (samostojatelen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 單 / 单 (zh) (dān), 獨自的 / 独自的 (dúzì de), 單獨的 / 单独的 (dāndú de)

• Czech: sólo (cs)
• Dutch: alleen (nl)
• French: solo (fr), solitaire (fr)
• German: einzeln (de)
• Italian: solitario (it), solo (it)
• Maori: takitahi, tōtahi, tōtahi
• Polish: solo (pl)
• Portuguese: solo (pt)
• Russian: самостоятельно (ru) (samostojatelʹno)
• Spanish: solo (es)
• Swedish: solo (sv), ensam (sv)
• Vietnamese: độc (vi) (獨 (vi)), đơn (vi) (單 (vi)), một mình (vi), tự (vi) (自 (vi)), tự mình

of a musical solo

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 獨唱 / 独唱 (zh) (dúchàng)

• Dutch: solo (nl)
• French: solo (fr)
• German: solo (de)
• Italian: solista (it), da solista, per solista
• Portuguese: solo (pt)
• Romanian: solo (ro)
• Russian: со́ло (ru) (sólo), со́льный (ru) (sólʹnyj)
• Spanish: solo (es)
• Swedish: solo (sv)
• Vietnamese: độc xướng (vi) (獨唱)

Adverb

solo (not comparable)

1. Alone, without a companion.
   • 1970, Paul McCartney (lyrics and music), “Two of Us”, in Let it Be:

     Two of us wearing raincoats / Standing solo / In the sun

   • 1984, “Wake me up before you go-go”, George Michael (lyrics), George Michael (music), performed by Wham!:

     Wake me up before you go-go / 'Cause I'm not plannin' on going solo

   • 2024 July 27, Ian Youngs, “Celine Dion makes stirring comeback at Olympics”, in bbc.com‎^[1]:

     The Canadian superstar had been rumoured to be singing a duet with Lady Gaga, but instead went solo on the Eiffel Tower to bring the four-hour event to a stirring climax.

Verb

solo (third-person singular simple present solos or soloes, present participle soloing, simple past and past participle soloed)

1. (music) To perform a solo.
2. To perform something in the absence of anyone else.
3. (Gaelic football) To drop the ball and then toe-kick it upward into the hands.
4. (slang) To independently perform an action, especially a challenging task.

Derived terms

• deep-water solo
• fly solo
• free solo
• free-solo
• solo album
• solo concert
• soloist
• solo parent
• solo poly
• solo polyamorous
• solo polyamory
• solo run
• solo sex
• solo whist

Related terms

• solitaire

Descendants

• → Portuguese: solar

Translations

to perform a solo

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: no corresponding word known

• Dutch: een solo spelen
• French: please add this translation if you can
• German: ein Solo spielen
• Italian: fare un assolo
• Maori: whakatene (of a song)
• Portuguese: solar
• Russian: солировать (ru) (solirovatʹ)
• Spanish: tocar un solo
• Vietnamese: độc diễn (獨演)

to perform something in the absence of anyone else

• Dutch: solo (nl)
• Finnish: sooloilla
• French: please add this translation if you can
• German: allein machen
• Italian: volare da solo
• Spanish: ir por su cuenta, ir por la cuenta propia de uno

to independently tackle a challenge

• Portuguese: solar

See also

• Thesaurus:number

Anagrams

• Loos, OOLs, Oslo, loos, sloo, sool

Asturian

Adjective

solo

1. neuter of solu

Bikol Central

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish solo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsolo/ [ˈso.l̪o]
• Hyphenation: so‧lo

Adjective

sólo (Basahan spelling ᜐᜓᜎᜓ)

1. sole, only

   Synonym: bugtong

2. alone

   Synonym: saro

Derived terms

• magsolo
• solohon

Catalan

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian solo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈsɔ.lu]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈsɔ.lo]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈso.lo]

Noun

solo m (plural solos)

1. (music) solo (a piece of music for one performer)
2. (card games) solo (a trick-taking card game played with 36 cards, similar to frog)

Derived terms

• solista

Further reading

• “solo” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “solo”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “solo” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “solo” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈsɔ.lu]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [ˈsɔ.lo]

Verb

solo

1. first-person singular present indicative of solar

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian solo, from Latin solus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsoː.loː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: so‧lo

Noun

solo m (plural solo's or soli, diminutive solootje n)

1. (music) solo (piece or passage performed or typified by a single performer)

Derived terms

• drumsolo
• gitaarsolo
• solist
• soloactie

Esperanto

Etymology

From sola +‎ -o.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsolo]
• Rhymes: -olo
• Hyphenation: so‧lo

Noun

solo (accusative singular solon, plural soloj, accusative plural solojn)

1. a single, solitary thing
2. (music) solo

   Synonym: soloo

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian solo. Doublet of seul.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɔ.lo/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

solo m (plural solos)

1. (music) solo (a piece of music for one performer)

Derived terms

• guitare solo
• soliste

See also

• duo, trio

Further reading

• “solo”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Etymology 1

Derived from Latin solum (“soil, ground”).

Noun

solo m (plural solos)

1. soil, ground

   Synonym: chan

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Italian solo.

Noun

solo m (plural solos)

1. (music) solo (a piece of music for one performer)

   Synonym: só

Etymology 3

Verb

solo

1. first-person singular present indicative of solar

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian solo.

Adjective

solo (indeclinable, predicative only)

1. alone
2. single (not married nor dating)

   Ich bin solo. ― I'm single.

Higaonon

Etymology

From sulu, compare Cebuano sulu.

Noun

solo

1. lamp

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈso.lo/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -olo
• Hyphenation: só‧lo

Etymology 1

Derived from Latin sōlus.

Adjective

solo (feminine sola, masculine plural soli, feminine plural sole, superlative solissimo)

1. alone, by oneself, unattended, unaccompanied, lonely, lone, lonesome

   Synonym: solitario

   Non sei solo. ― You are not alone.

2. only, single, just one, unique, sole

   Synonym: unico

3. (music) solo (a piece of music for one performer)

   Synonym: assolo

Coordinate terms

• (single): doppio, triplo

Derived terms

• solamente
• da solo

Descendants

• → English: solo
• → German: solo

Etymology 2

Derived from Latin sōlum.

Adverb

solo

1. only, just, but, alone, merely

   Synonyms: solamente, soltanto

   solo una volta ― only once

   ha solo quattro anni ― he's just four

Conjunction

solo

1. (followed by che) but, only

   Synonyms: ma, però

2. (preceded by se) if only

   se solo lui non fosse qui ... ― if only he was not here ...

3. (followed by se) only if

   […] solo se lui non è qui. ― […] only if he is not here.

Noun

solo m (plural soli, feminine sola)

1. the only one, the only man

   Synonym: unico

   lui è il solo che può ... ― he is the only one/only man that can ...

Related terms

• soliloquio
• solingo
• solino
• solipede
• solipsismo
• solista
• solitario
• solitudine

Anagrams

• Oslo

Ladino

Pronunciation

• Audio (Türkiye):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish solo, from Latin sōlus (“alone; sole; only”).

Adjective

solo (Hebrew spelling סולו)

1. sole; one; only; single (unique)
   • 2005, Aki Yerushalayim‎^[2], volumes 26–28, page 43:

     Los dos livros ke ensenyan konversasion son tambien los solos, de entre el grupo de 16 livros, ke sus buto es unikamente de embezar al elevo a avlar en ebreo.

     The two books that teach conversation are also the only [ones], from among a group of sixteen books, whose purpose is uniquely to teach the pupil to speak in Hebrew.

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Spanish solo, from Latin sōlum.

Adverb

solo (Hebrew spelling סולו)

1. only; solely; just

   Synonyms: solamente, unikamente

   • 1910, Reuben Eliyahu Israel, Traducsion libera de las poezias ebraicas de Roş Aşana i Kipur‎^[3], Craiova: Institutul Grafic, I. Samitca şi D. Baraş, Socieatate in Comandita, →OCLC, page 12:

     Tu sos envestido i envelupado de giustidad, a ti solo apartiene la sopirioridad
     Si no ai en nozotros ovras ⁴) boenas, acodrate de noestros padres i de sus santedad.
     Siempre los tengas en tu memoria i apiada a tu comunidad

     You are dressed and enveloped with justice, only to you does superiority belong; were good deeds absent from us, remind yourself of our fathers and their holiness. You always have them in memory; rescue your people.

Latin

Noun

solō

1. dative/ablative singular of solum

Adjective

sōlō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of sōlus

References

• “solo”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• solo in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Latvian

Noun

solo m (invariable)

1. (music) solo

Malagasy

Etymology

Borrowed from a South Sulawesi language, from Proto-South Sulawesi *sulu(r); compare Makasar suluk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsulu/, [ˈsulʷ]

Noun

sòlo

1. substitute, replacement

Norman

Etymology

Borrowed from English solo.

Noun

solo m (plural solos)

1. (music, Jersey) solo

Northern Sami

Verb

solo

1. inflection of soallut:
   1. present indicative connegative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian solo, from Latin solus (“alone”).

Adverb

solo

1. solo

Noun

solo (definite singular soloen, indefinite plural soloer or soli, definite singular soloene or soliene)

1. (music, dance) a solo

References

• “solo” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian solo, from Latin solus (“alone”).

Adverb

solo

1. solo

Noun

solo m (definite singular soloen, indefinite plural soloar, definite plural soloane)

1. (music, dance) a solo

References

• “solo” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Galician-Portuguese

Adjective

solo

1. Alternative form of soo

References

• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “solo”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “solo”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Manuel Ferreiro (2014–2025) “solo”, in Universo Cantigas. Edición crítica da poesía medieval galego-portuguesa (in Galician), A Coruña: University of A Coruña, →ISSN

Old Spanish

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin sōlus (“alone; sole; only”).

Adjective

solo

1. sole; one; only; single (unique)
   • c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 15r:

     Clamo amoẏſẽ ⁊ a pharaon. e dixo peq̃ al ur̃o ſẽnor dios. Rogat por mi q̃ me ꝑdone eſta uez ſola. E riedre deſobre my eſta muert. Rogo moiſen al nr̃o ſẽnor. ⁊ veno uiẽto de fauõno ⁊ echo toda la langoſta en la mar.

     Pharaoh called Moses and said, “I have sinned against your Lord God. Pray that He forgive me just this once, and that he remove this death from over me.” [So] Moses prayed to Our Lord, and the west wind came and cast all the locusts into the sea.

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin sōlum.

Adverb

solo

1. alone
   • ca. 1284–1295, anonymous, Fuero de Cuenca :

     Qual quier que a otro fuera de su casa metiere palo por el culo, peche dozyentos mr. & salga enemigo, si le fuere prouado; si non, saluese con doze vezinos & sea creydo o jure solo, & rresponda a rriepto, lo que al querelloso mas ploguiere.

     Whosoever inserts a stick in the arse to someone who belongs not to their House shall pay 200 maravedis and become an Enemy, if it is proven; otherwise, may they be saved with twelve neighbours and believed, or may they swear alone responding to a Challenge, whatever the one demanding may prefer.

References

• Ralph Steele Boggs et al. (1946) “solo”, in Tentative Dictionary of Medieval Spanish, volume II, Chapel Hill, page 477

Papiamentu

Etymology

Derived from Portuguese sol and Spanish sol and Kabuverdianu sol.

Noun

solo

1. sun

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian solo, from Latin sōlus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɔ.lɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔlɔ
• Syllabification: so‧lo

Noun

solo n (indeclinable)

1. (music) solo (piece of music for one)

   Synonym: solówka

2. (slang) a one-on-one fight usually between schoolers and agreed to in advance

   Synonym: solówka

Adjective

solo (not comparable, no derived adverb)

1. (music) solo (without a companion or instructor)

Adverb

solo (not comparable)

1. (music) solo (alone, without a companion)

   Synonym: pojedynczo

Related terms

(nouns):

• solista
• solistka
• solówka

Further reading

• solo in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• solo in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɔ.lu/

• Hyphenation: so‧lo

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Latin solum (“soil, ground”).

Noun

solo m (plural solos)

1. (geology) soil, ground
   • 2014, Venceslau de Morais, Paisagens da China e do Japão, Projecto Adamastor, →ISBN, page 97:

     O shogun, generalíssimo do imperador, com residência em Yedo, assinara por conta própria tratados de amizade e de comércio com a América e com a Europa, e os estrangeiros, em Yokohama, pisavam já afoitamente o solo japonês.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• subsolo

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Italian solo, from Latin sōlus (“alone, solitary”). Doublet of só.

Noun

solo m (plural solos)

1. (music) solo (a piece of music for one performer)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

solo

1. first-person singular present indicative of solar

Further reading

• “solo”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “solo”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2025
• “solo” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “solo”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “solo”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “solo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Italian solo.

Noun

solo m (plural solouri)

1. solo

Declension

Declension of solo

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	solo	soloul		solouri	solourii
genitive-dative	solo	soloului		solouri	solourilor
vocative	soloule			solourilor

Samoan

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Polynesian *solo₃ “to go quickly”.

Verb

solo

1. to move swiftly

Related terms

• gāsolo
• solofanua

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsolo/ [ˈso.lo]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -olo
• Syllabification: so‧lo
• Homophone: sólo

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish solo, from Latin sōlus (“alone; sole; only”).

Adjective

solo (feminine sola, masculine plural solos, feminine plural solas)

1. sole; one; only; single (unique)
2. lonely, lonesome
3. alone, by oneself
4. automatic; self-, by itself

   La máquina se lava sola.

   The machine washes itself; the machine is self-washing.

Derived terms

• como un solo hombre
• de solo a solo
• gato solo
• más solo que la una
• más vale solo que mal acompañado
• por sí solo
• solito
• tejón solo

Related terms

• a solas
• soledad
• solitario

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Spanish solo, from Latin sōlum.

Adverb

solo

1. only; solely; just

   Synonyms: solamente, únicamente

   Solo quiero salir. ― I just want to leave.

   No solo... sino también... ― Not only... but also...

Alternative forms

• sólo (superseded)

Further reading

• “solo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swedish

Adjective

solo (comparative mer solo, superlative mest solo)

1. (predicative only) alone

   Synonym: ensam

   Hon var solo på jobbet ― She was alone at work

Noun

solo n

1. (music) a solo (piece of music or dance performed by or strongly centered on a single or limited number of performers)

   Antonym: tutti

2. (in compounds) something done alone

   soloflygning ― solo flight

Declension

Declension of solo

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	solo	solos
	definite	solot	solots
plural	indefinite	solon	solons
	definite	solona	solonas

References

• solo in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• solo in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• solo in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Walloon

Etymology 1

Derived from Latin sōl, compare French soleil.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɔ.ˈlɔ/
• Hyphenation: so‧lo

Noun

solo m (plural solos)

1. (astronomy) sun

   Synonym: solea

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French solo, from Italian solo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɔ.ˈlɔ/
• Hyphenation: so‧lo

Noun

solo m (plural solos)

1. (music) solo