Solitudinarians

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who actively seek or prefer solitude and often engage in solitary pursuits or lifestyles
2. People who embrace isolation as a significant aspect of their existence and prioritize personal reflection or quietude
3. Those who find value in being alone and often consciously choose to distance themselves from social interactions and gatherings

Etymology: The word is a plural, so its core story belongs to the singular "solitudinarian", which is built from "solitude" plus the suffix "-arian". That suffix, borrowed from Latin "-arius", marks a person associated with or devoted to something, as in "librarian" or "humanitarian". Put together, a solitudinarian is literally someone devoted to solitude. The base lies in Latin "sōlitūdō", meaning loneliness or the state of being alone, formed from "sōlus" ("alone") with the suffix "-tūdō", which turns an adjective into a noun of state. English "solitude" came through Old French from the same Latin noun, so the Latin stem "solitūdin-" is what appears before "-arian" in the coinage. Because the word is formed transparently from familiar parts, it is a modern-sounding coinage rather than an ancient term. Its meaning follows the suffix's pattern: where "solitude" names a condition, "solitudinarian" names a person who has chosen that condition as a way of life.