demi-
AmericanEtymology
Origin of demi-
< French, combining form representing demi (adj.; also noun and adv.) < Vulgar Latin *dīmedius, for Latin dīmidius half, equivalent to dī- di- 2 + medius middle
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Adj. bisected &c. v.; cloven, cleft; bipartite, biconjugate†, bicuspid, bifid; bifurcous†, bifurcate, bifurcated; distichous, dichotomous, furcular†; semi-, demi-, hemi†.
From Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Roget, Peter Mark
Beyrout is demi- fashionable, semi-European; but Damascus is the heart of the East, and there is no taint of Europeanism about it.
From The Romance of Isabel Lady Burton Volume II by Wilkins, W. H.
In the sieges of the American civil war there were sometimes three thousand shots an hour, and from guns compared to which in calibre and power those cannon and demi- cannon were but children's toys.
From History of the United Netherlands from the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce, 1600-02 by Motley, John Lothrop
Inside the little fort there were six great pieces of brass ordnance, some demi- some whole culverin, throwing shot of 10-18 lbs. weight for a distance of a mile.
From On the Spanish Main Or, Some English forays on the Isthmus of Darien. by Masefield, John
The ladies in general wore neither diamonds nor pearls, but a sort of demi- toilet, which would have been pretty if their dresses had been longer and their shoes not so tight.
From Life in Mexico by Calderón de la Barca, Madame (Frances Erskine Inglis)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
