solicit
part of speech
verb (solicit, solicits, solicited, soliciting)
meaning for a pupil
1) (formal) To ask for something such as money, help or opinions, especially politely or officially. tree →
2) (formal) To try to get business or customers. tree →
3) (law) To ask someone in a public place for something illegal, which adults are forbidden to do. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In Ezekiel it means to approach someone and ask for a wicked bargain, here for unfaithful love. Interpretation: Ezekiel uses the picture to show that Jerusalem was unfaithful to God, even worse than other nations. In the primary lessons: In formal letters and news: «The school solicited donations», «The council solicited residents' opinions». On signs: «No soliciting» means no selling door to door or asking for money here. In law it can mean asking for something illegal. Phrases: «solicit donations», «solicit feedback», «no soliciting».
examples
- And the contrary is in thee from other women, in that thou didst solicit to harlotry, and wast not solicited; and in that thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, thus thou art contrary. (Prophets EZK.16.34, JPS 1917) tree →
- The charity solicited donations for the flood victims. tree →
- The teacher solicited our ideas for the class trip. tree →
- The sign on the door said «No soliciting». tree →
- The council solicited opinions from people in the town. tree →
- It is against the rules to solicit money in the school car park. tree →
- The shop solicited feedback from its customers. tree →
note
Regular verb: solicited, soliciting (no doubled letters). Related: «solicitor» (in the UK, Ireland, Australia and NZ: a kind of lawyer). «Solicit» is formal; everyday words: «ask for», «request». «Unsolicited» = not asked for (unsolicited advice).
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «solicit» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.