English
demure
Demure comes from Anglo-Norman de mure port ‘with a mature demeanor’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *meh₂- ‘good, great’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₂-‘good, great’root as named · steps between not traced
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400de mure port‘with a mature demeanor’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500demure
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₂-‘good, great’root as named · steps between not traced
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400de mure port‘with a mature demeanor’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500demure
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606–1607same form
Earliest quotation: c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra: “Your Wife Octavia, with her modeſt eyes, / […]…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *meh₂- ‘good, great’
most, mo, mat, mature, maturity, mistress, matinee, maturation, maduro, magisterial, matin, mañana, 20 more
Today it means
adj Modest, quiet, reserved, or serious.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *meh₂- / demure