Unclothen

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To remove garments from a person or oneself, leaving bare or partly bare
2. To strip away clothes from someone's body or from one's own body
3. To take off or shed clothing so that someone or something becomes naked or partially exposed

Etymology: "Unclothen" is an archaic past participle of "unclothe," the verb meaning to remove someone's clothes. It keeps the older strong-verb ending "-en," the same pattern as "clothen," which was once a standard participle of "clothe." The verb "clothe" comes from Old English "clāþian," a derivative of "clāþ" ("cloth" or "garment"), so the core idea is a garment, and "un-" simply reverses the action of putting one on. The participle survives mainly in older English and in poetic or religious writing, where "-en" forms were more common than they are today.