demure
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Inherited from Middle English demure, demwre, of uncertain formation, but probably from Old French meur (Modern French mûr), from Latin mātūrus. The de- is "of", as in "of maturity".
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation, UK) IPA(key): /dɪˈmjʊə(r)/
- (Standard Southern British) IPA(key): /dəˈmjɔː/, /dɪˈmjɵː/, /dɪˈmjʊə/
- (US, General American) IPA(key): /dɪˈmjʊɹ/, /dɪˈmjɔɹ/
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /dəˈmjʊə/
- (New Zealand) IPA(key): /dəˈmjʉə/
Audio (US): (file) Audio (General Australian): (file) - Rhymes: -ʊə(ɹ)
- Hyphenation: de‧mure
Adjective
[edit]demure (comparative demurer, superlative demurest)
- (chiefly of a woman) Modest, quiet, reserved, or serious.
- 1881, William Black, The Beautiful Wretch:
- Nan was very much delighted in her demure way, and that delight showed itself in her face and in her clear bright eyes.
- 2005, Maureen Dowd, Are Men Necessary?, →ISBN, page 311:
- I was coming back from the ladies' room when I saw her. She looked demure. Oval wire-rimmed glasses. A sky blue jacket buttoned over a long black-and-white flowered shirt.
- 2014 January 21, Hermione Hoby, “Julia Roberts interview for August: Osage County – 'I might actually go to hell for this …'”, in The Daily Telegraph[1]:
- [H]owever hard she pushed the tough-talkin' shtick, she remained doe-eyed, glowing and somehow unassailably demure.
- Affectedly modest, decorous, or serious; making a show of gravity.
- Synonym: coy
- c. 1824, Mary Russell Mitford, Walks in the Country:
- Miss Lizzy, I have no doubt, would be as demure and coquettish, as if ten winters more had gone over her head.
Usage notes
[edit]- Usage of the term "demure" spiked in 2024 after the catchphrase "very demure, very mindful" went viral on TikTok.[1]
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]modest, quiet, reserved
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Verb
[edit]demure (third-person singular simple present demures, present participle demuring, simple past and past participle demured)
- (obsolete) To look demurely.
- c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene xvi], page 363, column 2, line 30:
- Your Wife Octavia, with her modeſt eyes, / […] ſhall acquire no Honour / Demuring vpon me:
References
[edit]- ^ “Very Demure, Very Mindful”, in Know Your Meme, launched 2007
Further reading
[edit]- “demure”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- “demure, adj.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
Middle English
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]demure
Derived terms
[edit]Descendants
[edit]References
[edit]- “dēmūr, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 2
[edit]From Old French demore, demure.
Alternative forms
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]demure
Related terms
[edit]Descendants
[edit]- English: demur
References
[edit]- “dēmū̆re, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 3
[edit]Verb
[edit]demure
- Alternative form of demuren
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *meh₂- (good)
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
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- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
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- Rhymes:English/ʊə(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/ʊə(ɹ)/2 syllables
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- en:Personality
- Middle English terms prefixed with de-
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- enm:Personality
- enm:Time