Where does “demean” come from?
Demean comes from English mean, from Latin de and Latin dis-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -kos, with the sense developing through Latin dominus.
demean (English): To debase; to lower; to degrade; To humble,...
Definitions
- To debase; to lower; to degrade; To humble,...
Ancestry of “demean”, step by step
demean traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English demenen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | demenen | — |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | demener | to lead |
| 3 | Old French | demener | to lead |
| 4 | Old French | dé- | — |
| 5 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 6 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 7 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 8 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |
via English mean
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | mean | To intend |
| 2 | Middle English | mene | — |
| 3 | Middle English | imene | mean, base, common; average, lowly, mean |
| 4 | Old English | ġemǣne | common, public, general, universal; common,... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | gamainī | common; shared, communal |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | gamainiz | shared, communal, public; common, ordinary |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱom-moynis | — |