Sole
/soʊl/noun
The underside of a foot or shoe; also, something single or only.
Did you know?The English word *sole* hides two different histories: the foot/shoe sense comes through Latin *sōla* (“sole of the foot”), while the “only” sense comes from Latin *sōlus* (“alone”), showing how languages can fuse completely separate roots into one spell-like form.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*swel-
“to be dark, black, or swarthy”
Latin
Latin
sōlus
“alone, single, only”
Latin
Latin
sōla
“sole of the foot; bottom of the foot”
Old French
Old French
sole
“sole of the foot; sole, only”
Middle English
English
sole
“the bottom of the foot or shoe; single, only”
Modern English
English
sole
“the underside of a foot or shoe; single, only”