Those rare and solitary, these in flocks. --Milton.
Hie home unto my chamber, Where thou shalt find me,
sad and solitary. --Shak.
2. Performed, passed, or endured alone; as, a solitary
journey; a solitary life.
Satan . . . explores his solitary flight. --Milton.
3. ot much visited or frequented remote from society;
retired; lonely; as, a solitary residence or place.
4. Not inhabited or occupied; without signs of inhabitants or
occupation; desolate; deserted; silent; still; hence,
gloomy; dismal; as, the solitary desert.
How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of
people. --Lam. i. 1.
Let that night be solitary; let no joyful voice come
therein. --Job iii. 7.
5. Single; individual; sole; as, a solitary instance of
vengeance; a solitary example.
6. (Bot.) Not associated with others of the same kind.
{Solitary ant} (Zo["o]l.), any solitary hymenopterous insect
of the family {Mutillid[ae]}. The female of these insects
is destitute of wings and has a powerful sting. The male
is winged and resembles a wasp. Called also {spider ant}.
{Solitary bee} (Zo["o]l.), any species of bee which does not
form communities.
{Solitary sandpiper} (Zo["o]l.), an American tattler
({Totanus solitarius}).
{Solitary snipe} (Zo["o]l.), the great snipe. [Prov. Eng.]
{Solitary thrush} (Zo["o]l.) the starling. [Prov. Eng.]
2. A single diamond in a setting; also, sometimes, a precious
stone of any kind set alone.
Diamond solitaires blazing on his breast and wrists.
--Mrs. R. H.
Davis.
3. A game which one person can play alone; -- applied to many
games of cards, etc.; also, to a game played on a board
with pegs or balls, in which the object is, beginning with
all the places filled except one, to remove all but one of
the pieces by ``jumping,'' as in draughts.
4. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) A large extinct bird ({Pezophaps solitaria}) which
formerly inhabited the islands of Mauritius and
Rodrigeuz. It was larger and taller than the wild
turkey. Its wings were too small for flight. Called
also {solitary}.
(b) Any species of American thrushlike birds of the genus
{Myadestes}. They are noted their sweet songs and
retiring habits. Called also {fly-catching thrush}. A
West Indian species ({Myadestes sibilans}) is called
the {invisible bird}.