WORD OF THE DAY: DEMEANOUR
noun | dih-MEE-ner
Demeanour refers to someone’s outward manner and behavior toward others.
// The teacher’s calm demeanour put the classroom at ease.
Examples of demeanor
“At home, your demeanour impacts your family more than you realise. Your kids feed off your energy. If you’re engaged, positive, and present, they feel it.” — Brandon Brigman, The Rockdale Citizen (Conyers, Georgia), 30 Mar. 2026
Did You Know?
The history of demeanour begins with a threat: the word has its roots in Latin minārī, meaning “to threaten.” A form of that word was used in contexts having to do with driving animals—that is, impelling them to move—and from this word came more recent French ancestors having to do with leading, guiding, and behaving. By the 14th century, English had adopted a word out of this lineage: the verb demean meaning “to conduct or behave (oneself) usually in a proper manner.” (Another demean, defined as “to lower in character, status, or reputation,” entered the language later by way of the mean that has to do with being cruel.) The noun demeanour was formed in the following century through the addition of the suffix -or.
Merriam Webster Dictionary
