demur
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demur¹
- /dɪˈmɜː/ UK
- /dɪˈmɜɹ/ US
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)
Where it comes from
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 demurs · demurring · demurred · demur
- Chiefly followed by to, and sometimes by at or on: to object or be reluctant; to balk, to take exception. 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”). He that demurreth in Law confeſſeth all ſuch matters of fact as are well and ſufficiently pleaded.
- To endure, to last.
- To linger, to tarry. 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.
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To remain, to stay.
Similar: abide
- 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. [The Governor of Picardie and Chastilion of Newhaven said] there muſt be much vvaſt of time if the Engliſh ſhould lye at Guiſnes and the French at Ardes, and that the equality vvould be more, and the diſhonour to one of the ſides leſſe, if the entervievv ſhould be vpon the Frontires, then if one par
- 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). I demur the inference from these facts that Homer must have lived at some far later period, when he could have seen such works. Even if he had never seen any representations of life, his imagination might have conceived them.
- To cause delay to (someone or something); to put off. [The Jews believe that God] ſitteth in iudgement, and out of the books taketh reckoning of eurie mans life, and pronounceth ſentence accordingly. […] [T]he third, of the meane ſort, vvhoſe iudgement is demurred vntill the day of Reconciliation, (the tenth of Tiſri,) that if in the meane time they ſe
- To have doubts or hesitate about (something). VVhat may this mean? Language of Man pronounc't / By Tongue of Brute, and human ſenſe expreſt? / The firſt at leſt of theſe I thought deni'd / To Beaſts, vvhom God on thir Creation-Day / Created mute to all articulat ſound; / The latter I demurre, for in thir looks / Much reaſon, and in thir actions
demur²
- /dɪˈmɜː/ UK
- /dɪˈmɜɹ/ US
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle English demure, demore (“a delay, demur; a sojourn, stay”), from Old French demure, demore, demuere (“a delay, demur”) (modern French demeure), from Old French demorer, demourer (verb): see etymology 1.
noun demurs
- An act of objecting or taking exception; a scruple; also, an exception taken or objection to something. If publique Aſſemblies of Divines cannot agree upon a right vvay, private Conventicles of illeterate men, vvill ſoon finde a vvrong. Bivious demurres breed devious reſolutions. Paſſengers to heaven are in haſte, and vvill vvalk one vvay or other.
- An act of continuing; a continuance. [G]ood People, living vvithin the Limits of true and lavvful Matrimony, ſhall not by Malice or ill VVill, be ſo long detained and interrupted from their Right, as in times paſt they have been: Neither unjuſt Matrymony ſhall have his unjuſt and inceſtuous demoure and continuance, as by delayes to Rom
- An act of lingering or tarrying. [A]lbeit his Highneſs had cauſe, as the ſame vvrote, to marvel of your long demor, and lack of expedition of one or other of the things committed to your charge; yet did his Highneſs right vvell perſuade unto himſelf the default not to be in you, but in ſome other cauſe, […]
-
An act of remaining or staying; a residence, a stay.
VVe ſavv this tovvn only in tranſitu, but it merited a little demurr.
Similar: abode
- A state of having doubts; a hesitation, a pause. The King told me, […] That I ſhould have the Character of Ambaſſador Extraordinary, and the ſame Allovvance I ſhou'd have had in Spain: Upon this Offer I made no Demurr, but immediately accepted it, and ſo my Ambaſſy vvas declar'd in May 1674.
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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”).
[W]ith Rejoinders and Replies, / Long Bills, and Anſvvers, ſtuft vvith Lies, / Demurr, Imparlance, and Eſſoign, / The Parties ne'er could Iſſue join: / For Sixteen Years the Cauſe vvas ſpun, / And then ſtood vvhere it firſt begun.
Similar: demurrer
Translations
Every language
verb (intransitive) to object or be reluctant; (transitive) to object or take exception to (something) — see also balk, take exception
| Español | objetar |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | einwenden, hindern, opponieren, sich verweigern, widersprechen |
| Română | opune |
Talk about this word "demur." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/demur. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. demur. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/demur "demur." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/demur.Cite this
@misc{demur_2026,
title = {demur},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/demur},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
