Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Solitary \Sol"i*ta*ry\, a. [L. solitarius, fr. solus alone: cf.
   F. solitaire. See {Sole}, a., and cf. {Solitaire}.]
   1. Living or being by one's self; having no companion
      present; being without associates; single; alone; lonely.

            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.]