A soccus ( pl. socci) or sýkkhos (, pl. sýkkhoi), sometimes given in translation as a slipper, was a loosely fitting slip-on shoe in

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

with a leather sole and separate leather, bound without the use of hobnails. The word appears to originate from the languages of

ancient Anatolia Ancient Anatolia may refer to: * Prehistory of Anatolia **Iron Age Anatolia *Classical Anatolia See also * Ancient kingdoms of Anatolia *Anatolian peoples The Anatolians were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples who inhabi ...

. They were worn by

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

comedic actors, contrasted with the cothurni worn by tragedians, and were borrowed into

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and worn by the

ancient Romans The Roman people was the ethnicity and the body of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens (; ) during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. This concept underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of the Roman ...

. The soccus was considered

effeminate Effeminacy or male femininity is the embodiment of feminine traits in boys or men, particularly those considered untypical of men or masculinity. These traits include roles, stereotypes, behaviors, and appearances that are socially associated wi ...

, and the emperor Caligula is described as having worn them, possibly as a form of insult. Later socci became popular with the general public, and several types were listed in the Edict of Diocletian. The word was adopted into

West Germanic languages The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic languages, Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic languages, North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages, East Germ ...

for similarly light footwear, eventually becoming English ''

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...

''.

See also

References

Further reading