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Origin and history of solicitation

solicitation(n.)

late 15c., solicitacioun, "management," from French solicitation and directly from Latin solicitationem (nominative solicitatio) "vexation, disturbance, instigation," noun of action from past-participle stem of solicitare "to disturb, rouse, stimulate, provoke" (see solicit).

The meaning "action of soliciting" is from 1520s. The specific sense of "enticing of a man by a prostitute in a public place" is from c. 1600.

also from late 15c.

Entries linking to solicitation

solicit(v.)

early 15c., soliciten, "to disturb, trouble, arouse, excite," from Old French soliciter, solliciter (14c.) and directly from Latin solicitare, sollicitare "to disturb, rouse, trouble, harass; stimulate, provoke," from sollicitus "agitated," from sollus "whole, entire" (from PIE root *sol- "whole, well-kept") + citus "aroused," past participle of ciere "shake, excite, set in motion" (from PIE root *keie- "to set in motion"). Related: Solicited; soliciting.

The meaning "to further (business affairs)" evolved mid-15c. from a French sense of "manage affairs." The meaning "entreat, petition" (someone, to do something) is attested from 1520s.

The sense in reference to women, "entice or lure to immorality," especially in reference to prostitutes seeking clients in public, is attested by 1710 but implied a century earlier (in solicitrix), perhaps with awareness of the business sense of the word, but it also had an earlier sense, in reference to men, of "to court or beg the favor of" (a woman) for immoral purposes, which is attested from 1590s.

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    appeal
    early 14c., appelen, originally in the legal sense, to "call" to a higher judge or court, from Anglo-French apeler "to call upon, accuse," Old French apeler "make an appeal" (11c., Modern French appeler), from Latin appellare "to accost, address, appeal to, summon, name," iterati
    collection
    late 14c., "action of collecting, practice of gathering together," from Old French collection (14c.), from Latin collectionem (nominative collectio) "a gathering together," noun of action from past-participle stem of colligere "gather together" (see collect). Especially of money
    importune
    "harass with solicitation, demand persistently," 1520s, back-formation from importunity, or else from French importuner,...
    invitation
    mid-15c., "act of inviting, solicitation," from Latin invitationem (nominative invitatio) "an invitation, incitement, challenge...
    accost
    Also picked up as the verb for a prostitute's solicitation of a customer (1812). Related: Accosted; accosting....
    community
    the charities relieved of financial worry and adequately supported, but the public is spared the irritation of constant solicitation...
    prayer
    c. 1300, preiere, "earnest request, entreaty, petition," also "the practice of praying or of communing with God," from Old French prier "prayer, petition, request" (12c., Modern French prière), from Medieval Latin precaria "petition, prayer," noun use of Latin adjective precaria,
    request
    mid-14c., requeste, "act of asking for a favor, service, etc.; expression of desire for something to be granted or done," from Old French requeste (Modern French requête) "a request," from Vulgar Latin *requaesita, from Latin requisita (res) "(a thing) asked for," from fem. of re
    touch
    late 13c., "make deliberate physical contact with," from Old French tochier "to touch, hit, knock; mention, deal with" (11c., Modern French toucher), from Vulgar Latin *toccare "to knock, strike" as a bell (source also of Spanish tocar, Italian toccare), perhaps of imitative orig
    couth
    Middle English couth "known, well-known; usual, customary," from Old English cuðe "known," past participle of cunnan "to know," less commonly "to have power to, to be able" (see can (v.1)). As a past participle it died out 16c. with the emergence of could, but the old word was re

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