Well, after all that “sex”, I simply must demur — that there isn’t more!! Nope, I am not that demure of a lady. Ask my family and friends, lol.
I’m sure there are a few readers who would demur…and maybe I should have raised up the caution note. However, no writer can be demure about knowledge, for one never knows when such intelligence will be needed.
Word Confusions…
…started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noir for you from either end.
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| Demur | Demure |
|---|---|
| Credit to: Apple Dictionary.com; Dictionary.com: demure; Lexico.com: demur, demure | |
Protesters With Signs at the Student Protest, Morristown, New Jersey, 24 March 2018, by Tomwsulcer is under the CC0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — These protesters demur gun violence. |
Demure and Shy, courtesy of the Detroit Publishing Company, is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun; Verb, intransitive
Plural for the noun: demur |
Adjective |
| Noun: [Usually with negative] The action or process of objecting to or hesitating over something
[Law; obsolete] An objection that an opponent’s point is irrelevant or invalid Verb, intransitive:
Archaic] To linger
|
[Of a woman or her behavior] Reserved, modest, and shy
Affectedly or coyly decorous, sober, or sedate |
| Examples: | |
| Noun: They accepted this ruling without demur. Workers and unions are enjoined to accept wage cuts without too much demur, provided they are satisfied jobs would be saved. You can plead by way of reply and demur, can you not? Verb, intransitive: They wanted to make him the treasurer, but he demurred. “I’m not a very good close reader of my own work,” she demurs when asked to explain the meaning of an incident near the end of The Namesake. Yet Stevenson demurs mildly, and says diplomatically: “I think actors often improvise in character in a scripted film, so it’s not that unusual.” Indeed, although this is not before the Court, I am sure my learned friend would not demur at my reading it. |
I shared a compartment with a child and his demure governess.
I mean, I thought I’d get nice, small questions from quiet, demure girls who would be too shy to ask anything, really. We saw them transformed from calm, demure ladies to bears protecting their cubs when the neighborhood bully was on our heels. The one person who evokes sympathy is Bruce’s demure wife. She wore a demure white lace cap. Judith’s virtue is indicated by the demure clothing and veil that cover her from head to toe while Holofernes, in contrast, is almost naked. It had straps, so it showed a bit of her shoulders, but the dress was demure. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: demurrable, undemurring Noun: demurral, demurrer |
Adjective: demurer, demurest, undemure Adverb: demurely, undemurely Noun: demureness |
| History of the Word: | |
| Middle English in the sense linger, delay is from the Old French demourer (verb), demeure (noun) and is based on the Latin de- (away, completely) + morari (delay). | Late Middle English in the sense sober, serious, reserved is perhaps from the Old French demoure, a past participle of demourer meaning remain (see demur). It is influenced by the Old French mur meaning grave, from the Latin maturus meaning ripe or mature.
The late 17th century saw reserved, shy evolve. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan…which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them…and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions by exploring the index. You may also want to explore Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, and/or the Properly Punctuated.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Rageface Objects by MEME TN is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr. It’s background was removed, flipped horizontally, and the resulting bottom left corner was slightly warped in Photoshop. Demure But Extremely Pretty Farmington Girls is an illustration by Henry Summer Watson and is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Part of the background was removed and feathered in Photoshop.
