Politics & SocietyGreek → English
Solon
/ˈsoʊlən/noun
A legislator, especially one credited with wisdom.
The Greek roots
Σόλων
Sólōn
the Athenian lawgiver
Literally: “Solon the lawgiver”
Follow a root:Σόλων1 word
The story of the word
Athens handed Solon emergency powers around 594 BC. He cancelled outstanding debts, forbade enslavement for debt, and then left the country for ten years so that nobody could pester him into amendments. American newspapers turned the name into a common noun for a legislator, mostly because it fits a headline where congressman will not. The tone is usually a shade sardonic.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 19th century
In a sentence
State solons adjourned without passing the budget.
The paper called him a solon in one paragraph and a fixer in the next.