The act of removing someone from holy orders or religious office, ending their status as a priest or clergy member.
From Latin de- (remove) + ordinatio (ordination, arrangement), derived from ordinare (to arrange in order). The term emerged in ecclesiastical contexts during the medieval period to describe the reversal of ordination.
This word reveals how seriously the medieval church took religious hierarchy—defrocking someone was such a significant act it needed its own formal term, showing that ordination wasn't just a ceremony but a permanent change in someone's legal and social status.
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