Etymologically
Log in

demereo

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word demereo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin mereō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin mereo
Latin demereo
From the same root
Latin emereo ← mereo
Latin emeritus ← mereo
Latin meritorius ← mereo
Latin promereo ← mereo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [deːˈmɛ.re.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [deˈmɛː.re.o][1]

Forms

dēmereō (present infinitive dēmerēre, perfect active dēmeruī, supine dēmeritum); second conjugation[1] A deponent dēmereor, dēmerērī, dēmeritus sum is used from Seneca on.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin dē- + mereō (“to earn, deserve”).[2][3][1] De Vaan lists ⟨dēmerēre⟩ “to earn, oblige”, attested from Plautus, among the derivatives of the simple verb, which he traces with a question mark to Proto-Indo-European *(s)mr-eh₁- (“to earn”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus uses it of earning:[2][4] in the Pseudolus a hat is asked how much pay it has earned for its owner that day, quid mercedis petasus hodie domino demeret?.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

With a thing as object, to earn or deserve, it is rare and found only before and after the classical period;[5] Gellius uses it of earning large sums by beauty.[2] From the Augustan period it takes a person as object and means to oblige someone or win their favour:[5] Livy speaks of a chance to oblige the state by a kindness, and Ovid tells the lover not to be ashamed to win over slaves.[2]

The deponent appears with Seneca, who speaks of a face that wins over whole peoples;[2][3] Tacitus remarks that more wrongs are done in seeking favour than in giving offence.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of earning.[2][6]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of obliging the state.[2][6]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of winning someone over.[2][6]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses the deponent form.[2][3][6]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it of earning money.[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To earn, deserve.[2][5]
  2. To oblige, please, win the favour of.[2][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Demereo.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/demereo. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·