adjective

1. living or being alone
2. without others; single; only a solitary example
3. characterized by loneliness or lack of companions
4. lonely; remote; unfrequented a solitary place
5. done in solitude
6. Bot. occurring singly, as a flower
7. Zool. living alone or in pairs; not colonial, social, etc.

Etymology: ME < OFr solitaire < L solitarius < solus, alone, sole

noun pl. solitaries -·tar′·ies

1. a person who lives alone; esp., a hermit
2. Informal solitary confinement