solatium

Did You Know?

In legal circles, a solatium is a payment made to a victim as compensation for injured feelings or emotional pain and suffering (such as the trauma following the wrongful death of a relative), as distinct from payment for physical injury or for damaged property. Like many legal terms, solatium, which first appeared in English in the early 19th century, is a product of Latin, where the word means solace. The Latin noun is related to the verb solari, which means "to console" and from which we get our words solace and console.