souling

Etymology

From soul + -ing.

souling means The practice of giving and receiving soul cakes on All Souls Day Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why this word is great

SOULING — [Noun] The medieval Christian custom of traversing the village on All Hallows’ Eve or All Souls’ Day to beg for soul cakes, offering prayers for the givers’ deceased in return. From the noun soul (referring to the spiritual essence of a deceased person) + the suffix -ing (denoting an action or practice). Unlike “mumming”—a performative disguise for communal revelry—or “trick-or-treating”—a secular, acquisitive ritual of costumed fantasy—souling was a solemn transaction of spiritual economy, an alms for intercession. It is the chill breath on the threshold, the humble weight of an oatcake in the palm, and the murmured Latin verses for a name long faded from the parish register—a quiet commerce between the living and the judged, where a scrap of bread bought a moment of grace.

noun

The practice of giving and receiving soul cakes on All Souls Day