demur means chiefly followed by to, and sometimes by at or on: to object or be reluctant; to balk, to take exception. It carries an Arena rating of 1701, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, demur ranks #1,098 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,426 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,910 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #3,359 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
demur is pronounced /dɪˈmɜː/.
Why “demur” is a great word
To make a polite objection or express reluctance, especially on grounds of scruple. Its etymology is precise: from Middle English demuren, from Anglo-Norman demorer and Old French demorer, demourer ("to remain, stay"), from Vulgar Latin dēmorāre, from Latin dēmorārī, infinitive of dēmoror ("to delay, detain; to linger"), from de- (intensifying prefix) + moror ("to delay"), from mora ("a delay"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- ("to remember, think"). First attested in English c. 1200. Unlike "acquiesce," which implies silent compliance, or "protest," which suggests clamorous confrontation, to demur is to lodge a scruple with elegant restraint. It is the slight but firm drawing back of a hand, the tactful clearing of a throat before a difficult truth, or the carefully placed silence that politely refuses to endorse a dubious plan. It is the measured friction of conscience against the smooth machinery of consensus.
Etymology
From Middle English demuren (“to delay; to linger; to remain (in office); to keep, retain (?)”), from Anglo-Norman demorer and Old French demorer, demourer (“to remain, stay”) (modern French demeurer), from Vulgar Latin dēmorāre, from Latin dēmorārī, the present active infinitive of Latin dēmoror (“to delay, detain; to linger, tarry”), from de- (intensifying prefix) + moror (“to delay, detain; to hinder, impede; to linger, loiter”) (from mora (“a delay; hindrance, obstacle”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (“to fall into thinking; to remember”), probably referring to a time for thinking) + -or (variant of -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)).
verb
- Chiefly followed by to, and sometimes by at or on: to object or be reluctant; to balk, to take exception.e.g.“I demur to that statement.”
- To submit a demurrer (“motion by a party to a legal action for the immediate or summary judgment of the court on the question of whether, assuming the truth of the matter alleged by the opposite party, it is sufficient in law to sustain the action or defence, and hence whether the party bringing the motion is required to answer or proceed further”).
- To endure, to last.
- To linger, to tarry.e.g.“The Eele is here, and in this hollow cave / You'll finde, if that our looks on it demurre, / A great wast in the bottome of his furre.” — 1653, Francis Rabelais [i.e., François Rabelais], translated by [Thomas Urquhart, Peter Anthony Motteux], “The Antidoted Fanfreluches: Or, A Galimatia of Extravagant Conceits Found in an Ancient Monum
- To remain, to stay.
- To suspend judgment or proceedings because of a difficulty or doubt; to put off the conclusion or determination of a matter; to delay, to hesitate, to pause.
- To have doubts; to be doubtful.
- Followed by upon: to be captivated or fixated; to dwell on, to linger.
- To object or take exception to (something).
- To cause delay to (someone or something); to put off.
- To have doubts or hesitate about (something).
noun
- An act of objecting or taking exception; a scruple; also, an exception taken or objection to something.
- An act of continuing; a continuance.
- An act of lingering or tarrying.
- An act of remaining or staying; a residence, a stay.
- A state of having doubts; a hesitation, a pause.
- Synonym of demurrer (“a motion by a party to a legal action for the immediate or summary judgment of the court on the question of whether, assuming the truth of the matter alleged by the opposite party, it is sufficient in law to sustain the action or defence, and hence whether the party bringing the motion is required to answer or proceed further”).
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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