solicited

Solicited is the past tense and past participle of the verb solicit. It denotes that a request or invitation was made—something sought or prompted by one party from another. The term is used across several domains, including commerce, law, and everyday language, to indicate that action was prompted by a prior invitation or prompt.

Etymology: solicit originates from Latin sollicitare, meaning to disturb or excite, and entered English via Old French solliciter. The form solicited describes actions or responses that resulted from such solicitation.

In business and procurement, a solicited bid or proposal is one submitted in response to a formal request issued by a buyer, such as a request for proposals (RFP) or a request for qualifications (RFQ). This contrasts with unsolicited proposals, which are offered without a prior invitation and may be subject to different evaluation procedures.

In marketing and customer relations, solicited feedback or solicited communications are those the recipient has agreed to receive or requested. Solicited outreach is typically contrasted with unsolicited outreach, which occurs without prior consent or request.

In legal contexts, solicitation can refer to the act of requesting or encouraging another person to commit a crime or to engage in illegal activity. The adjective solicited can describe a request that has been made or a response that has been obtained as part of that solicitation. The term is used to distinguish between actions initiated by the requester and those prompted by prior invitation or prompting.