demeans
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of demean
• Nadeems, amendes, seedman
Source: Wiktionary
De*mean", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Demeaned; p. pr. & vb. n. Demeaning.] Etym: [OF. demener to conduct, guide, manage, F. se démener to struggledé- (L. de) + mener to lead, drive, carry on, conduct, fr. L. minare to drive animals by threatening cries, fr. minari to threaten. See Menace.]
1. To manage; to conduct; to treat. [Our] clergy have with violence demeaned the matter. Milton.
2. To conduct; to behave; to comport; -- followed by the reflexive pronoun. They have demeaned themselves Like men born to renown by life or death. Shak. They answered . . . that they should demean themselves according to their instructions. Clarendon.
3. To debase; to lower; to degrade; -- followed by the reflexive pronoun. Her son would demean himself by a marriage with an artist's daughter. Thackeray.
Note: This sense is probably due to a false etymology which regarded the word as connected with the adjective mean.
De*mean", n. Etym: [OF. demene. See Demean, v. t.]
1. Management; treatment. [Obs.] Vile demean and usage bad. Spenser.
2. Behavior; conduct; bearing; demeanor. [Obs.] With grave demean and solemn vanity. West.
De*mean", n. Etym: [See Demesne.]
1. Demesne. [Obs.]
2. pl.
Definition: Resources; means. [Obs.] You know How narrow our demeans are. Massinger.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
26 February 2025
(adjective) marked by strong resentment or cynicism; “an acrimonious dispute”; “bitter about the divorce”
The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.
