demeanour

demeanour
[15] A person’s demeanour is how they ‘conduct’ themselves. The word goes back ultimately to the literal notion of driving animals along. It is a derivative of the now virtually obsolete reflexive verb demean ‘behave’, borrowed in the 13th century from Old French demener. This was a compound formed from the intensive prefix de- and mener ‘lead’, a descendant of Latin mināre ‘drive a herd of animals’ (whose original connotation of ‘urging on with threats’ is revealed by its close relationship with minārī ‘threaten’, source of English menace). This obsolete demean should not, incidentally, be confused with demean ‘degrade’ [17], which was formed from the adjective mean. => MENACE

The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • demeanour — British English spelling of DEMEANOR (Cf. demeanor) (q.v.); for suffix, see OR (Cf. or) …   Etymology dictionary

  • demeanour — (US demeanor) ► NOUN ▪ outward behaviour or bearing. ORIGIN from DEMEAN(Cf. ↑demeaning) …   English terms dictionary

  • demeanour — [[t]dɪmi͟ːnə(r)[/t]] N UNCOUNT: usu poss N Your demeanour is the way you behave, which gives people an impression of your character and feelings. [FORMAL] From his general demeanour I didn t get the impression that he was being ironical. ...her… …   English dictionary

  • demeanour — Demeanor De*mean or, n. [Written also {demeanour}.] [For demeanure, fr. demean. See {Demean}, v. t.] 1. Management; treatment; conduct. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] God commits the managing so great a trust . . . wholly to the demeanor of every grown… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • demeanour — de|mea|nour BrE demeanor AmE [dıˈmi:nə US ər] n [singular, U] formal [Date: 1400 1500; Origin: demean to behave (14 21 centuries), from Old French demener to guide ] the way someone behaves, dresses, speaks etc that shows what their character is… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • demeanour — BrE, demeanor AmE noun (singular, uncountable) the way someone behaves or looks that gives you a general idea of their character: There was certainly a large element of irony in his demeanour …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • demeanour — UK [dɪˈmiːnə(r)] / US [dɪˈmɪnər] noun [uncountable] formal the way you look and behave His demeanour in court is usually quiet and timid …   English dictionary

  • demeanour — [15] A person’s demeanour is how they ‘conduct’ themselves. The word goes back ultimately to the literal notion of driving animals along. It is a derivative of the now virtually obsolete reflexive verb demean ‘behave’, borrowed in the 13th… …   Word origins

  • demeanour — British variant of demeanor …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • demeanour — de|mean|our [ dı minər ] the British spelling of demeanor …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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