solicit

[suh-lis-it]

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verb (used with object)

to seek for (something) by entreaty, earnest or respectful request, formal application, etc.: He solicited aid from the minister.

to entreat or petition (someone or some agency): to solicit the committee for funds.

to seek to influence or incite to action, especially unlawful or wrong action.

to offer to have sex with in exchange for money.

verb (used without object)

to make a petition or request, as for something desired.

to solicit orders or trade, as for a business: No soliciting allowed in this building.

to offer to have sex with someone in exchange for money.

Origin of solicit

1400–50; late Middle English soliciten < Middle French solliciter < Latin sollicitāre to excite, agitate, derivative of sollicitus troubled (soll(us) whole + -i- -i- + citus, past participle of ciēre to arouse)

Related formspre·so·lic·it, verb (used with object)re·so·lic·it, verbsu·per·so·lic·it, verbun·so·lic·it·ed, adjective

Synonyms for solicit

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR solicit ON THESAURUS.COM

2. beseech, beg. 3. excite, arouse, provoke.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for soliciting

inviting, seeking, requesting, approaching, canvassing

Examples from the Web for soliciting

Contemporary Examples of soliciting

He is also soliciting funds for university fellowships in agronomy and engineering.
Mexico’s Holy Warrior Against the Cartels
Jason McGahan
November 18, 2014
Christian conservative Sen. Larry Craig plead guilty for soliciting sex in the Minneapolis airport bathroom in 2007.
‘7th Heaven’ Dad Stephen Collins and the Christian Right’s Real Morality Tale
Amanda Marcotte
October 8, 2014
On Twitter and in Facebook pages ISIS was making appeals as well as threats, attracting recruits and soliciting funding online.
ISIS is Using Social Media to Reach YOU, Its New Audience
Jacob Siegel
August 31, 2014
In soliciting funds for care packages, Move America Forward frequently uses testimonials from troops or their relatives.
Exclusive: ‘Pro-Troop’ Charity Pays Off Tea Party Cronies Instead
Kim Barker
August 5, 2014
There are adolescent boys all over America soliciting naughty pics from adolescent girls, he says.
Snapchat: Naughty, Goofy, Ethereal, Permanent or All of the Above?
Winston Ross
September 21, 2013

Historical Examples of soliciting

One was from a manufacturer of cold cream, soliciting a testimonial.
The Film of Fear
Arnold Fredericks
The monarchs of foreign countries often wrote to him soliciting his aid.
Henry IV, Makers of History
John S. C. Abbott
At dawn of day I found every person complaining, and some of them soliciting extra allowance; but I positively refused it.
A Narrative Of The Mutiny, On Board His Majesty's Ship Bounty; And The Subsequent Voyage Of Part Of The Crew, In The Ship's Boat
William Bligh
Well, is that all you had to say to me in soliciting an audience?
Ten Years Later
Alexandre Dumas, Pere
For this purpose Gallaudet and a few others set about soliciting contributions.
The Deaf
Harry Best

British Dictionary definitions for soliciting

solicit

verb -its, -iting or -ited

(when intr, foll by for) to make a request, application, or entreaty to (a person for business, support, etc)

to accost (a person) with an offer of sexual relations in return for money

to provoke or incite (a person) to do something wrong or illegal

Derived Formssolicitation, noun

Word Origin for solicit

C15: from Old French solliciter to disturb, from Latin sollicitāre to harass, from sollicitus agitated, from sollus whole + citus, from ciēre to excite

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for soliciting

solicit

early 15c., "to disturb, trouble," from Middle French soliciter (14c.), from Latin sollicitare "to disturb, rouse, trouble, harass; stimulate, provoke," from sollicitus "agitated," from sollus "whole, entire" + citus "aroused," past participle of ciere "shake, excite, set in motion" (see cite). Related: Solicited; soliciting.

Meaning "entreat, petition" is from 1520s. Meaning "to further (business affairs)" evolved mid-15c. from Middle French sense of "manage affairs." The sexual sense (often in reference to prostitutes) is attested from 1710, probably from a merger of the business sense and an earlier sense of "to court or beg the favor of" (a woman), attested from 1590s.