Discalceating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Practicing the custom of going barefoot or wearing only sandals, particularly as an expression of religious devotion
2. Abstaining from wearing shoes, instead going barefoot or in simple sandals, usually for spiritual or religious observance
3. Following a tradition in which individuals, often in religious orders, forgo shoes and may walk barefoot or with minimal footwear as a sign of humility

Etymology: "Discalceating" is the present participle of "discalceate," which means to go barefoot as an act of religious discipline or humility. The root is the Latin "discalceare," built from "dis-," meaning "off" or "apart," and "calceus," the word for a shoe. Put together, the sense is literally "to take off one's shoes." The Latin verb "discalceare" gave rise to the past participle "discalceatus," meaning "unshod" or "with shoes removed," and English borrowed the adjective and verb forms from that participle. The "-ate" endings in English come from Latin suffixes that form verbs and adjectives, so the word keeps the shape of its Latin origin while acquiring its specialized religious meaning in English.

Synonyms: barefoot, shoe-removing