DEMEANS

Verb

demeans

Third-person singular simple present indicative form of demean

Anagrams

• Nadeems, amendes, seedman

Source: Wiktionary


DEMEAN

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



RESET




Word of the Day

5 April 2025

SET

(noun) an unofficial association of people or groups; “the smart set goes there”; “they were an angry lot”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

There are more than 50 countries that export coffee. They are near the equator, where the climate is conducive to producing coffee beans.

coffee icon