descalzo

Forms

descalzo (feminine descalza, masculine plural descalzos, feminine plural descalzas)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *discalceus (“barefoot”), formed with dis- on calceus (“shoe”).^[2][1] Wiktionary allows that it may instead be a shortening of discalceātus, the participle of the Late Latin verb discalceō.^[1] The DLE derives it from the irregular participle of the Spanish verb descalzar, and Gómez de Silva from an older descalzado.^[3][4]

The same word is Portuguese descalço, Galician descalzo, Catalan descalç, Occitan descauç, French déchaux, Italian scalzo and Romanian desculț.^[1][2][5]

The Latin noun is a noun use of an adjective formed on calx (“heel”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas's first record is the Fuero de Avilés of 1155.^[2][6][7] In Alfonso X's laws penitents come to the church door on Ash Wednesday descalços & uestidos de panno de lana, barefoot and dressed in coarse wool.^[8]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century, with the reformed orders, descalzo became the name of friars and nuns who went barefoot or in sandals; the Diccionario de Autoridades quotes Saint Teresa's frailes descalzos.^[9] It also records descalzo de pie y pierna, with both foot and leg bare, and the phrase no está descalzo “he is not as poor as he makes out”.^[9] Terreros gave it the sense “poor”, and the Academy added “destitute” as a figurative sense in 1899.^[10][11]

In El Salvador a descalzo is a hand-rolled cigarette.^[12]

Timeline

• 1155 – the Fuero de Avilés.^[2][6]
• c. 1230 – Berceo's Vida de Santo Domingo de Silos.^[7]
• 1328–1335 – the verb descalzar is first recorded, in Juan Manuel.^[2][6]
• 1515 – first record from the Americas, in Tierra Firme.^[13]
• 1732 – the Diccionario de Autoridades records the barefoot religious orders.^[9]
• 1884 – the Academy records the phrase no estar uno descalzo.^[14]

Meanings

Adjective

1. barefoot, not wearing shoes: Los niños corrían descalzos por la arena.^[3][1]
2. (also noun) Of a friar or nun: belonging to a reformed order whose rule requires bare feet or sandals; discalced.^[3][15]
3. (figurative) Lacking means, poor (pobre).^[16][15]
4. (El Salvador, noun) A hand-rolled cigarette.^[12]

Word family

• descalcez

Related words

• descalzar
• calzar
• calzado
• calza
• Portuguese descalço

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 770
3. ^ a b c Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. descalzo
4. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 222
5. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 2280
6. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. calzar
7. ^ a b Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. descalzo
8. ^ Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. descalzo
9. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 3, 121
10. ^ Terreros y Pando, Esteban de (1786–1793), Diccionario castellano con las voces de ciencias y artes y sus correspondientes de las tres lenguas francesa, latina e italiana, 4 vols., Madrid: Viuda de Ibarra, p. 1, 625
11. ^ Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 331
12. ^ a b Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. descalzo
13. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. descalzo
14. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 357
15. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. descalzo
16. ^ Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. descalzo