solatium
Americannoun
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something given in compensation for inconvenience, loss, injury, or the like; recompense.
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Law. damages awarded to a plaintiff as compensation for personal suffering or grief arising from an injury.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of solatium
1810–20; < Medieval Latin sōlātium, variant spelling of sōlācium, Latin: solace
Explanation
A solatium is compensation given to comfort someone who has suffered a loss or injury due to someone else's actions. In court, solatium is a sum of money awarded to a plaintiff for pain and suffering. The word solatium is borrowed from Latin, where the word means solace, "comfort offered to or felt by someone who is disappointed or miserable." A grieving person may "take solatium in" — feel comforted by — the knowledge that a deceased loved one lived a joyful life. In a legal situation, a judge or jury may order that a solatium (usually money) be paid by a person or company who caused harm to the person or people who suffered from it.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Synonyms: amends, restitution, redress, compensation, recompense, damages, solatium, repayment, atonement, indemnification, indemnity.
From Washington Times • Nov. 12, 2021
Onyway, Deacon, ye’d put your ill-gotten gains to a right use; they might come by the wind, but they wouldna gang wi’ the water; and that’s aye a solatium, as we say.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XV by Stevenson, Robert Louis
In China every official has his salary paid in two parts: one called the "regular stipend," the other, a "solatium to encourage honesty."
From The Awakening of China by Martin, W. A. P. (William Alexander Parsons)
I’m not alludin’ to our pleasant financial relationship, Lady T. What I infer is that if after the forthcoming hop I drag myself away from my sorrowin’ friends at Drumdurris I expect a—ah—a solatium.
From The Cabinet Minister A farce in four acts by Pinero, Arthur Wing, Sir
No: Travers hasn't been running around and finding me a better-paid job as a solatium.
From Foe-Farrell by Quiller-Couch, Arthur Thomas, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
