From Latin 'desolare' (to leave utterly alone) — 'de-' + 'solus' (alone). French 'desole' (sorry) literally means 'desolated.'
Bleak, empty, and lifeless; feeling wretchedly lonely or abandoned.
From Latin dēsolātus, past participle of dēsolāre (to leave alone entirely, to abandon, to depopulate, to lay waste), composed of dē- (completely, intensifying) + solāre (to make lonely), from sōlus (alone, solitary, single, without companions). The PIE root underlying sōlus is debated, but Latin sōlus is securely the ancestor of English sole (only, alone), solo, and solitary, as well as French seul (alone), Spanish solo, and Italian solo. Desolate carries a double meaning that the Latin preserved: it describes