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demeaning (adj.)[demeaning 词源字典]: 1829, present participle adjective from demean (v.). Related: Demeaningly.[demeaning etymology, demeaning origin, 英语词源]
demeanor (n.): late 15c., from obsolete Middle English demean "handle, manage, conduct," later "behave in a certain way" (early 14c.), from Old French demener (11c.) "to guide, conduct; to live, dwell," from de- "completely" (see de-) + mener "to lead, direct," from Latin minare "to threaten," in Late Latin "to drive (a herd of animals);" see menace. Sense in English evolved from notion of "conduct, manage" (oneself). Spelling changed by influence of nouns in -or, -our.
demeanour: chiefly British English spelling of demeanor; for suffix, see -or.
dement (v.): "to drive mad," 1540s, probably from Middle French démenter, from Late Latin dementare "to drive out of one's mind," from stem of Latin demens "out of one's senses, insane, raving, foolish; distracting, wild, reckless" (a less technical term than insanitas), from phrase de mente, from de + mente, ablative of mens mind" (see mind (n.)).
demented (adj.): 1640s, from obsolete dement "drive mad."
dementia (n.): 1806, from Latin dementia "madness, insanity," literally "a being out of one's mind," from dement-, stem of demens "mad, raving" (see dement) + abstract noun suffix -ia. It existed earlier in an anglicized form, demency (1520s), from French démence. Dementia praecox is a Modern Latin form recorded from 1899 in English, 1891 in German, from French démence précoce (1857). See precocious.
demerit (n.): late 14c., from Old French desmerite "blame, demerit" (Modern French démérite), from des- "not, opposite" (see dis-) + merite "merit" (see merit (n.)). Latin demereri meant "to merit, deserve," from de- in its completive sense. But Medieval Latin demeritum meant "fault." Both senses existed in the Middle French form of the word. Meaning "penalty point in school" is attested from 1862.
Demerol: trademark name, by 1942; originally a morphine substitute.
demesne (n.): c. 1300, demeyne (modern spelling by late 15c.), from Anglo-French demesne, demeine, Old French demaine "land held for a lord's own use," from Latin dominicus "belonging to a master," from dominus "lord." Re-spelled by Anglo-French legal scribes under influence of Old French mesnie "household" (and the concept of a demesne as "land attached to a mansion") and their fondness for inserting -s- before -n-. Essentially the same word as domain.
Demeter: goddess of agriculture, mother of Persephone, from Greek Demeter; the second element generally given as mater (see mother); the first element possibly from da, Doric form of Greek ge "earth" (see Gaia), but Liddell & Scott find this "improbable." The Latin masc. proper name Demetrius means "son of Demeter."
demi-: word-forming element meaning "half, half-sized, partial," early 15c., from Old French demi "half" (12c.), from Late Latin dimedius, from Latin dimidius "half, one-half," which contains the elements dis- "apart" (see dis-) + medius "middle" (see medial).
demi-monde (n.): 1855, also demimonde, from French demi-monde "so-so society," literally "half-world," from demi- "half" + monde, from Latin mundus "world" (see mundane).

Popularized by use as title of a comedy by Alexandre Dumas fils (1824-1895). Dumas' Demi-Monde "is the link between good and bad society ... the world of compromised women, a social limbo, the inmates of which ... are perpetually struggling to emerge into the paradise of honest and respectable ladies" ["Fraser's Magazine," 1855]. Not properly used of courtesans. Compare 18th-century English demi-rep (1749, the second element short for reputation), defined as "a woman that intrigues with every man she likes, under the name and appearance of virtue ... in short, whom every body knows to be what no body calls her" [Fielding].
demigod (n.): 1520s, from demi- + god, rendering Latin semideus. The child of sexual intercourse between a deity and a mortal, a man raised to divine rank, or a minor god.
demijohn (n.): 1769, partial translation and word-play from French damejeanne (late 17c.) "Lady Jane," term used for large globular wicker-wrapped bottle, perhaps because its shape suggested a stout woman in the costume of the period. A general Mediterranean word, with forms found in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Arabic.
demilitarize (v.): 1883, in reference to the Austrian military frontier in the Balkans; see de- + military + -ize. Demilitarized zone attested by 1921 (the Versailles Treaty uses neutralized zone).
demise (n.): mid-15c., from Middle French demise, fem. past participle of démettre "dismiss, put away," from des- "away" (from Latin dis-) + Middle French mettre "put," from Latin mittere "let go, send" (see mission). Originally "transfer of estate by will," meaning extended 1754 to "death" because that's when this happens.
demisemiquaver (n.): 1706; see demi- + semi- + quaver (n.).
demission (n.): 1570s, from French démission, from Latin demissionem "a sending away," noun of action from past participle stem of demittere (see demit).
demit (v.): 1610s (figurative), 1640s (literal), from Latin demittere "to send down," from de- (see de-) + mittere "to send" (see mission).
demitasse (n.): also demi-tasse, 1842, from French, literally "half-cup," from demi- + tasse, an Old French borrowing from Arabic tassah, from Persian tasht "cup, saucer" (compare Italian tazza, Spanish taza "cup").