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Solar

 - 7 dictionary results

so⋅lar

1[soh-ler]
–adjective
1. of or pertaining to the sun: solar phenomena.
2. determined by the sun: solar hour.
3. proceeding from the sun, as light or heat.
4. utilizing, operated by, or depending on solar energy: a solar building; a solar stove.
5. indicating time by means of or with reference to the sun: a solar chronometer.
6. manufacturing or providing solar power: the solar industry.
7. Astrology. subject to the influence of the sun.
–noun
8. Informal. solar energy.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME < L sōlāris, equiv. to sōl sun + -āris -ar 1

sol⋅ar

2[sol-er, soh-ler]
–noun
a private or upper chamber in a medieval English house.
Also, sollar, soller.


Origin:
bef. 900; ME solar, soler < AF soler, OF solier < L sōlārium solarium; cf. OE solor, soler, MD solre loft < L

solar energy

–noun
energy derived from the sun in the form of solar radiation.
Also called solar.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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so·lar   (sō'lər)   
adj.  
  1. Of, relating to, or proceeding from the sun: solar rays; solar physics.

  2. Using or operated by energy derived from the sun: a solar heating system.

  3. Determined or measured in reference to the sun: the solar year.


[Middle English, from Latin sōlāris, from sōl, sun; see sāwel- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

solar energy

The energy the Earth receives from the sun, primarily as visible light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation. (See renewable resource.)

Note: The term solar energy often refers to processes that use this energy to generate heat or electricity for human use. (See solar cells.)
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

solar 
c.1450, from L. solaris "of the sun," from sol "sun" (see sol). Meaning "living room on an upper story" is from O.E., from L. solarium (see solarium). Solar power is attested from 1915. Solar system is attested from c.1704. Solar plexus (1771) "complex of nerves in the pit of the stomach," apparently so called from its central position in the body.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

solar

in architecture, private room located on the floor above the great hall in a late medieval English manor house. The solar served as a kind of parlour to which the family of the owner of the manor house or castle could retire from the bustling communal living of the hall below. In fact, by the late 14th century the solar was more often called the "retiring room." Up a flight of stairs from the dais, or platform, end of the hall, the solar usually had an adjacent chapel.

Learn more about solar with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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