sol
sɑːl
Why the sun and being alone share one root
The picture One single thing left in a wide empty space, the way there is only one sun in an empty sky. sol is one thing left alone; corp is many pulled into one body.
Where the picture shows up in sol
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Only one owner
I am the sole owner of this shop.
aɪ æm ðə soʊl ˈoʊnər əv ðɪs ʃɑːp
I run this shop on my own.
A contract with exactly one name on the signature line.
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Only one voice sounding
She plays a short solo in the second song.
ʃiː pleɪz ə ʃɔːrt ˈsoʊloʊ ɪn ðə ˈsɛkənd sɔːŋ
She has a short solo in the second song.
Every other instrument going quiet until one player's sound is all that is left ringing.
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Sitting apart from everyone
He took a solitary table by the window.
hiː tʊk ə ˈsɑːlɪtɛri ˈteɪbl baɪ ðə ˈwɪndoʊ
He took a table for one by the window.
Rows of empty chairs with a person at just one seat by the window.
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The only one in the sky
We put solar panels on the roof last year.
wiː pʊt ˈsoʊlər ˈpænlz ɒn ðə ruːf læst jɪr
We put panels on the roof last year.
A single sun hanging in an empty sky, heating the roof below it.
The sun too is the only one in the sky, which is why it shares the root.
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Not one left
The street looks desolate after midnight.
ðə striːt lʊks ˈdɛsələt ˈæftər ˈmɪdnaɪt
After midnight this street empties out.
A street everyone has drained out of, only shop signs still lit.
de- here means utterly — past one left to nobody left at all is desolate.
All of it in one picture
sol is one thing left in an empty space. When the owner is only me, I am the sole owner; when only one player sounds on stage, it is a solo; a seat with nobody beside it is solitary. The one thing hanging in an empty sky is the sun, so it gives us solar; and when everybody has drained away and nothing is left, the place is desolate. So when you see sol, think only one.