demi

See also: demi-, Demi, and de-mi

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English demi, from Anglo-Norman demi, from Latin dimidius. Literally, “half”.

Noun

demi (plural demis)

1. Alternative spelling of demy.
2. (slang) A fifty pence piece.
3. A bottle of wine containing 0.375 liters of fluid, half the volume of a standard bottle; a split.
4. A small glass used chiefly in France (especially for beer) holding 250 milliliters.
   • 1928, Jean Rhys, Quartet, Penguin, published 2000, page 34:

     The place was empty save for a big man who was sitting opposite drinking a demi of dark beer.

   • 2012, Time Out Paris, London: Time Out Guides, →ISBN, page 234:

     A croque-monsieur will set you back €6, a steak €12.50, and a demi of Stella €3.

Translations

wine bottle of 0.375 liters

• Bulgarian: половинка f (polovinka), деми n (demi)

glass holding 250 milliliters

• Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can

Etymology 2

Clipping of demimonde.

Noun

demi (plural demis)

1. A member of the demimonde; a woman maintained by a wealthy man.
   • 1923, Agatha Christie, The Murder on the Links:

     It’s not every one who can distinguish between a demi and a duchess.

Etymology 3

Clipping of demisexual.

Adjective

demi (comparative more demi, superlative most demi)

1. (informal) Demisexual.
   • 2017, Tayari Jones, Atlanta Noir, →ISBN:

     “[...] I totally think she's demi.” “What?” “Demisexual? She only likes fucking people she's in love with, whereas I,” Maddie said, moving closer to Jordan, “like fucking anything and anyone. Everyone has such hang-ups about sex, it's like pathetic, you know? We are just, like, totally animals after all, evolved monkeys. I'm all for giving in to my primal instincts.”

Anagrams

• Diem, Dime, IMed, dime, idem, meid

Albanian

Noun

demi

1. inflection of dem:
   1. definite nominative singular
   2. indefinite dative/ablative singular

French

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *dimedius, from Latin dīmidius (“half”), derived from dis- (“apart; in two”) + medius (“middle; centre”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /də.mi/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France (Lyon)):

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Adjective

demi (feminine demie, masculine plural demis, feminine plural demies)

1. half

   Voir le verre à demi plein ou à demi vide.

   To see the glass half full or half empty.

Adverb

demi

1. half; partially; almost

   Je suis à demi heureux, c'est à dire je suis à moitié heureux.

   I am semi-happy, that's to say, I am half-happy.

Noun

French numbers ^(edit)

←  1	2	3  →
Cardinal: deux     Ordinal: deuxième, second     Ordinal abbreviation: 2e, 2d, (nonstandard) 2ème     Multiplier: double     Fractional: demi, moitié
French Wikipedia article on 2

demi m (plural demis)

1. half (fraction)
2. (used in time) half (half-hour)

   Il est cinq heures et demie.

   It is half past five.

   Elle sera là dans une demi-heure.

   She will be here in half an hour.

   • 1904, Frédéric Weisgerber, chapter II, in Trois mois de campagne au Maroc: étude géographique de la région parcourue‎^[1], Ernest Leroux, page 26:

     À huit heures et demie les bêtes de somme ne sont pas encore arrivées.

     At half past eight the pack animals had not yet arrived.

3. (Polynesia, France) a person of multiracial descent, usually a person with French and other non-European origin; mixed-race
4. a glass of beer of 250 ml volume
5. (Quebec, real estate) bathroom

   Appartements 3 1/2 pièces à louer à Montréal

   3.5 room apartments [an apartment unit with a kitchen, a bedroom and a living room, plus a bathroom] for rent in Montreal

Usage notes

When used as a prefix, demi- does not agree with the gender of a noun.

Une demi-heure.

Un demi-jour.

When it appears after a noun, it agrees in gender but not number.

Une heure et demie.

Cinq jours et demi.

After midi and minuit (both masculine), the correct form is demi, but demie is also encountered through analogy with the feminine heure.

Derived terms

• à demi
• à malin, malin et demi
• demi de mêlée
• demi d'ouverture

See also

• moitié

Further reading

• “demi”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Anagrams

• dîme, idem

Indonesian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [dəˈmi]
• Hyphenation: dê‧mi

Preposition

demi

1. for the sake of, for something's sake
   1. (by extension) in the name of (something/someone)
2. per, by; to each, in each (used in expressing ratios of units)

   Synonym: per

3. (uncommon) when, whereupon, after which
4. (uncommon, literary or archaic) as if, as though

   Synonyms: bagai, laksana, seperti

Further reading

• “demi”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈdeː.miː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈdɛː.mi]

Etymology 1

See dēmō (“I remove, take away, or subtract”).

Verb

dēmī

1. present passive infinitive of dēmō

Etymology 2

See dēmos (“a tract of land”, “[the common] people”).

Noun

dēmī m

1. inflection of dēmos:
   1. genitive singular
   2. nominative/vocative plural

Malay

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *demi, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *demi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /də.mi/
• Rhymes: -mi, -i
• Hyphenation: de‧mi

Preposition

demi

1. for the sake of; for.

   Dia bekerja keras demi masa depan anak-anaknya. ― He works hard for the sake of his children's future.

2. by; in the name of (used for swearing an oath).

   Demi Tuhan, saya berkata benar. ― By God, I am telling the truth.

3. by; signifies a progression, often used with reduplicated nouns.

   Mereka berjalan selangkah demi selangkah. ― They walked step by step.

   Dia memeriksa dokumen itu satu demi satu. ― She checked the documents one by one.

Derived terms

• demikian

Further reading

• "demi" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

Turkish

Phrase

demi

1. misspelling of de mi
   • 2023 January 9, Twitter.com‎^[2], archived from the original on 11 January 2023:

     şıkka bak “sen demi” puahahwhajaahsjs

     look at the option "youtoo?" hahahah

2. nonstandard spelling of değil mi

   Synonym: dimi