Both Uses of
solicit
in
Moby Dick
- The eager mariners but ask him who he is, and where from; whereas, they not only receive an answer to those questions, but likewise another answer to a question not put by them, but the unsolicited answer is forced from Jonah by the hard hand of God that is upon him.†
Chpt 7-9unsolicited = given without a requeststandard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unsolicited means not and reverses the meaning of solicited. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
- Therefore he had not solicited a boat's crew from them, nor had he in any way hinted his desires on that head.†
Chpt 49-51 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(solicit) to ask for something, or to try to sell something, or to try to persuade
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Less commonly, solicit can specifically reference offering sexual favors for money.