Demur
[də-mər]
Part of speech: verb
Origin: Latin, 12th century
1.
Raise doubts or objections or show reluctance.
2.
(Law) Put forward a demurrer.
Examples of Demur in a sentence
"This is an open forum — please demur if you don't agree."
"If you don't agree with the charge, your lawyer can demur."
About Demur
As with many words that are rooted in Latin, "demur" took a progression through other languages to get to English. In Latin, "de-" means "away or completely," and "morari" means "delay." Then it moved into Old French as "demourer" (verb) and "demeure" (noun). As it moved from French into Middle English, "demur" meant "to delay," but it's also an objection — maybe even an objection at a delay.
Did you Know?
To demur means to object, doubt, or show your reluctance. The verb is also used in a legal sense to file a demurrer, or objection. But if you don't have any qualms, you might use "demur" as a noun. "Demur" is almost always used in the negative as a noun: "I agreed to his compromise without demur."
