▪ I. demand, n.1
(dɪˈmɑːnd, -æ-)
Also 3–6 demaunde, 4–5 demande.
[a. F. demande (12th c. in Littré), f. demander to demand.]
1. a. An act of demanding or asking by virtue of right or authority; an authoritative or peremptory request or claim; also transf., the substance or matter of the claim, that which is demanded.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 130/823 Alle þat heorden þeos demaunde In grete wonder stoden þere. 1390–1 in Coldingham Corr. (Surtees 1841) 67 The quylk bischop mad hym richt resonable demaundes as we thoucht. 1393 Gower Conf. I. 259 But he..Withstood the wrong of that demaunde. 1484 Caxton Fables of æsop v. xiii, A fayrer demaunde or request than thyn is I shalle now make. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxvi. 229 Graunt to Gerard your brother his demaunde. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iii. iii. 123 All the number of his faire demands Shall be accomplish'd without contradiction. 1654 Whitelocke Jrnl. Swed. Emb. (1772) I. 41 A desire, that Whitelocke would putt down his demands in writing. 1769 Robertson Chas. V, V. iv. 377 Henry's extravagant demands had been received at Madrid with that neglect which they deserved. 1883 Froude Short Stud. IV. i. vii. 81 The king's demand seemed just and moderate to all present. |
b. fig.
| 1729 Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 71 Compassion is a call, a demand of nature, to relieve the unhappy. 1816 L. Hunt Rimini iii. 83 He made..A sort of fierce demand on your respect. 1885 F. Temple Relat. Relig. & Sc. viii. 228 The sense of responsibility is a rock which no demand for completeness in Science can crush. |
2. a. The action of demanding; claiming; peremptory asking.
| 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. i. 178 He shall with speed to England For the demand of our neglected Tribute. 1606 ― Tr. & Cr. iii. iii. 17 What would'st thou of vs Troian? make demand? 1642–3 Earl of Newcastle Declar. in Rushw. Hist. Coll. (1751) V. 134 So a Thief may term a true Man a Malignant, because he doth refuse to deliver his Purse upon demand. 1781 Cowper Truth 93 High in demand, though lowly in pretence. 1874 Green Short Hist. iv. §1. 161 The accession of a new sovereign..was at once followed by the demand of his homage. |
b. on († at) demand: (payable) on being requested, claimed, or presented: said of promissory notes, drafts, etc.
| 1691 Lond. Gaz. No. 2636/4 A Note, signed Samuel Lock to Isaac Stackhouse on Demand, for 158l. 7s. 3d. 1715 Ibid. No. 5299/4 They may have their Mony..at Demand. 1880 J. W. Smith Manual Com. Law iii. vi. (ed. 9) 287 If a bill or note is payable on demand, the Statute of Limitations runs from the date of the instrument, without waiting for a demand. 1892 J. Adam Commercial Corr. 24 A Bank Note is a Promissory Note payable to Bearer on Demand. |
3. Law. The action or fact of demanding or claiming in legal form; a legal claim; esp. a claim made by legal process to real property.
| [a 1481 Littleton Tenures 39 Si homme relessa a un auter toutz maners demandes.] 1485 Act 1 Hen. VII, c. 1 As if his ancestor had dyed seised of the said lands and tenements so in demand. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 351 Aucthoritie to enquire, intreate, defyne and determine of all maner of causes, querels, debtes and demaundes. 1628 Coke On Litt. 291 b, There bee two kinde of demands or claimes, viz. a demand or claime in Deed, and a Demand or claime in Law. 1875 Poste Gaius iv. Comm. (ed. 2) 564 In a demand of a heritage, security must be given. |
4. a. ‘The calling for a thing in order to purchase it’ (J.); a call for a commodity on the part of consumers.
| 1711 Steele Spect. No. 262 ¶3 The Demand for my Papers has increased every Month. 1780 Impartial Hist. War Amer. 35 The English, finding a great demand for tobacco in Europe. 1882 Times 27 Nov. 11 The demand for tonnage at the Rice Ports has decidedly increased. |
b. Pol. Econ. The manifestation of a desire on the part of consumers to purchase some commodity or service, combined with the power to purchase; called also effectual demand (cf. effectual 1 c). Correlative to supply.
| 1776 Adam Smith W.N. i. xi. (1868) I. 197 The average produce of every sort of industry is always suited, more or less exactly, to the average consumption; the average supply to the average demand. 1776–1868 [see effectual 1 c]. 1848 Mill Pol. Econ. iii. iii. §2 Demand and supply govern the value of all things which cannot be indefinitely increased. 1878 Jevons Prim. Pol. Econ. 99 The Laws of Supply and Demand may be thus stated: a rise of price tends to produce a greater supply and a less demand; a fall of price tends to produce a less supply and a greater demand. |
c. in demand: sought after, in request.
| 1825 M{supc}Culloch Pol. Econ. ii. iv. 178 Labourers would be in as great demand as before. 1828 Webster s.v., We say, the company of a gentleman is in great demand; the lady is in great demand or request. 1868 Rogers Pol. Econ. iii. (1876) 2 It is necessary in order to give value to any object, that it should be, as is technically said, in demand. |
5. An urgent or pressing claim or requirement; need actively expressing itself.
| c 1790 Willock Voy. 259 We found the garrison had very urgent demands for provisions. 1856 Sir B. Brodie Psychol. Inq. I. i. 3 He had sufficient fortune to meet the reasonable demands of himself and his family. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 184 The demands of a profession destroy the elasticity of the mind. |
6. A request; a question. arch.
| c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 374 Men myghten asken why she was nat slayn..I answere to that demande agayn Who saued danyel in the horrible Caue. c 1477 Caxton Jason 61 b, I wolde fayn axe yow a demande if it were your playsir. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. 1 Every question or demaunde in thynges is of two sortes. 1634 Canne Necess. Separ. (1849) 15 There follows an exhortation again, with other demands and answers. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxv, ‘I ask pardon, sir..is not your name Ephraim Jenkinson?’ At this demand he only sighed. Ibid. xxxi, ‘Pray your honour..can the Squire have this lady's fortune if he be married to another?’ ‘How can you make such a simple demand?’ replied the Baronet: ‘undoubtedly he cannot.’ 1821 Shelley Prometh. Unb. ii. iv. 124 One more demand; and do thou answer me As my own soul would answer, did it know That which I ask. |
7. attrib. and Comb. demand curve, a graph showing how the demand for a commodity or service varies with or depends on some other quantity; spec. one that shows how the demand, at any particular time, varies according to the price charged; demand deposit U.S., a banking account from which the customer can withdraw funds without prior notification; demand-driven a. Econ., motivated or propelled by demand, esp. the (usu. increasing) requirements of the user, consumer, etc.; demand feeding, the feeding of a baby when it cries, and not according to a timetable; demand note, a note payable on demand (demand n.1 2 b); also, a formal request for payment; demand-pull attrib. (Econ.), designating inflation caused by demand (demand n.1 4 b) in excess of available supply; contrasted with cost-push s.v. cost n.2 6; demand-side attrib. (Econ.), pertaining to the demand side, esp. of the economy; hence, designating changes in price or output caused by variations in the pressure of demand; also non-attrib.; contrasted with supply-side adj. s.v. supply n. 12 a.
| 1936 Economist 11 Apr. 85/2 And how far is the [building society] movement prepared to cope with any future change, such as a downward turn in the ‘*demand curve’ for owner-occupied houses? 1949 Mind LVIII. 199 The basis of the theory of demand is the demand-curve, which states a functional relationship between the price and the quantity of a commodity demanded by the aggregate of consumers. |
| 1930 J. M. Keynes Treat. Money II. xxiii. 7 Current Accounts in England and *Demand Deposits in the United States roughly correspond to the Cash-deposits. 1947 L. Tarshis Elem. Econ. iii. xxiii. 284 When someone writes a check, he instructs his bank to transfer a part of his demand deposit, or checking account, to another person. 1966 R. G. Lipsey Introd. Positive Econ. (ed. 2) viii. xlviii. 675 A demand deposit means that the customer can withdraw his money on demand. |
| 1980 Newsweek 27 Oct. 89/3 If too many Americans begin to feel the same way, the nation could return to the old *demand-driven inflationary treadmill. 1984 N.Y. Times 19 Feb. xxiii. 28/3 Health care is..a demand-driven industry, that is,..a large part of its costs are the result of increased demand for more and better services and technology. |
| 1953 R. Lightwood in Gaisford & Lightwood Paediatrics for Practitioner I. xiii. 118 Some people find that ‘*demand feeding’ obviates this [sc. early morning crying of a baby]. 1955 I. Asimov Martian Way (1964) 123 She followed the demand-feeding system or the ‘if-you-want-it-holler-and-you'll-get-it’ routine. 1970 Radio Times 16 Apr. 57/2 At about the same time that his [Dr. Spock's] book was published, a report came out attempting to prove that a baby could set his own feeding schedule (‘demand feeding’ as it has come to be known). |
| 1892 Daily News 19 Dec. 6/3 *Demand money was valued at 10 to 25 per cent. |
| 1866 Crump Banking v. 129 On a ‘*demand’ note the statute [of Limitation] would run from the date of the instrument. |
| 1892 J. Adam Commerc. Corr. 22 The most common form is the *Demand Promissory Note. |
| 1958 Economist 29 Nov. 784/3 The proper approach to the wage element in inflation is to reduce the spread (itself largely a product of ‘*demand-pull’ inflation) between basic wage rates and earnings. 1980 Newsweek 13 Oct. 99/2 Reagan's is basically a demand-pull tax cut, relying on consumer spending and saving to expand the economy. |
| 1975 Forbes (N.Y.) 1 Jan. 215 The supply side looks bad, but the *demand side looks worse. 1980 N.Y. Times 9 Mar. iii. 1/5 This is in contrast to the demand-side, or Keynesian, theory that to cure a lagging economy, one creates demand through government spending or tax cuts; and to cure inflation, one depresses demand by cutting spending or raising taxes. |
Add: [7.] demand-led a. Econ. = demand-driven adj.
| 1981 Economist 7 Feb. (Amer. Real Estate Survey Suppl.) 11/3 A *demand-led inflation in rents in several sunbelt cities. 1987 New Statesman 27 Nov. 14/2 There are not many ways of controlling the legal aid budget, because it is demand-led. |
▪ II. † deˈmand, n.2 Sc. Obs.
[a. OF. *desmande (not in Godef.), f. OF. desmander, mod.F. dial. démander to countermand, f. des-, dé- (dis-) + mander:—L. mandāre to order.]
Countermand; opposition to a command, desire, or wish; demur.
| c 1500 Lancelot 191, I that dar makine no demande To quhat I wot It lykith loue commande. Ibid. 3052, I fal at hir command Do at I may, withouten more demand. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 598 In the passage with drawin sword in hand, Still thair he stude, and maid thame sic demand, Neuir ane of thame he wald lat furth by. |
▪ III. demand, v.
(dɪˈmɑːnd, -æ-)
Also 5–7 demaund(e.
[a. F. demander (= Pr., Sp., Pg. demandar, It. dimandare):—L. dēmandāre to give in charge, entrust, commit (f. de- I. 3 + mandāre to commission, order), in med.L. = poscere to demand, request (Du Cange).
The transition from the Latin sense ‘give in charge, entrust, commit, commend’ to the Romanic sense ‘request, ask’, was probably made through the notion of entrusting or committing to any one a duty to be performed, of charging a servant, or officer, with the performance of something, whence of requiring its performance of him, or authoritatively requesting him to do it. Hence the notion of asking in a way that commands obedience or compliance, which the word retains in English, and of simple asking, as in French. An indirect personal object (repr. the L. dative) would thus be a necessary part of the original construction, but it had ceased to be so before the word was adopted in England, where the earliest use, both in Anglo-Fr. and English, is to demand a thing simply. The verb probably passed into the vernacular from its legal use in Anglo-French.]
I. To ask (authoritatively or peremptorily) for:
* a thing.
1. trans. To ask for (a thing) with legal right or authority; to claim as something one is legally or rightfully entitled to.
| [1292 Britton vi. iv. §16 Si..le pleintif se profre et demaunde jugement de la defaute, le pleintif recovera seisine de sa demaunde, et le tenaunt remeindra en la merci.] 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. iii. xiv. 199 Hys heyre myght haue an actyon for to demande the hole payement of hys wages. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 114 He was compelled to demaund an ayde and taske of all England for the quieting of Irelande. 1594 R. Crompton L'Authoritie des Courts 8 The Serjeant of the Parliament should..demaund deliuery of the prisoner. 1628 Coke On Litt. 127 a, He shall defend but the wrong and the force, & demand the iudgement if he shall be answered. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 182 And for every tun of fresh water, they demanded and was payed..foure shillings and foure pence. 1670 Tryal of Penn & Mead in Phenix (1721) 321, I demand my Liberty, being freed by the Jury. 1763 Gentl. Mag. Sept. 463 The peace officer..demanding entrance, the door was opened a little way. 1894 Mivart in Eclectic Mag. Jan. 10 To all men a doctrine was preached, and assent to its teaching was categorically demanded. |
b. with inf. phr. or subord. clause.
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. ii. i. 143 He doth demand to haue repaid A hundred thousand Crownes. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 161 ¶9 The constable..demanded to search the garrets. 1834 L. Ritchie Wand. by Seine 40 The diocese of Paris..had the cruelty and injustice to demand that the bones..should be returned to their care. |
2. spec. in Law. To make formal claim to (real property) as the rightful owner. Cf. demand n. 3 and demandant 1.
| 1485 Act 1 Hen. VII, c. 1 That the demandant in euery such case haue his action against the Pernour or Pernours of the profits of the lands or tenements demanded. 1531 Dial. Laws Eng. ix. 18 b, If the demandaunt or plaintyffe hangyng his writ wyll entre in to the thyng demaunded his wryt shal abate. 1628 Coke On Litt. 127 b, Demandant, peteur, is hee which is actor in a reall action because he demandeth lands, etc. 1783 Blackstone Comm. (ed. 9) II. App. xviii, Francis Golding Clerk in his proper person demandeth against David Edwards, Esq., two messuages. |
3. To ask for (a thing) peremptorily, imperiously, urgently, or in such a way as to command attention. † But formerly often weakened into a simple equivalent of ‘to ask’ (esp. in transl. from French, etc.). Const. of or from a person.
| 1484 Caxton Curiall I b, But what demaundest thou? Thou sechest the way to lese thy self by thexample of me. 1548 Hall Chron. 236 When Piers Cleret had paied the pencion to the lorde Hastynges, he gently demaunded of hym an acquitaunce, for his discharge. 1600 E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 273 By his letter, hee had demaunded pardon of the Catholique King. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 108 He was to intreate his father to demand for him a wife. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iii. xl. 255 They demanded a King, after the manner of the nations. 1812 M. Edgeworth Vivian xi, The physician qualified the assent which his lordship's peremptory tone seemed to demand. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid ii. 71 Trojans eye me in wrath, and demand my life as a foe! |
b. with object expressed by inf. phr. or subord. clause.
| 1534 Ld. Berners tr. Golden Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) 56, I demaunded then to haue a compte of the people. 1600 E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 242 They demaunded secretly..to borrow beds of silke, silver vessels, and other things fit for a kings service. 1754 Hume Hist. Eng. I. v. 304 Anselm..demanded positively, that all the revenues of his see should be restored to him. 1769 Goldsm. Hist. Rome (1786) I. 39 Two ruffians..demanded to speak with the king. 1798 Invasion II. 232 He..demanded to speak with Sherland. |
c. absol.
| 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxxiii. xxii, Whan I had so obteyned the victory, Unto me than my verlet well sayd: You have demaunded well and worthely. 1597 Shakes. Lover's Compl. 149 Yet did I not, as some my equals did, Demand of him, nor being desired, yielded. 1601 ― All's Well ii. i. 21 Those girles of Italy, take heed of them, They say our French lacke language to deny If they demand. |
† 4. To make a demand for (a thing) to (a person). [= Fr. demander à.] Obs.
| 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour D vj, Of whiche god shalle aske and demaunde to them acompte the day of his grete Jugement. c 1500 Melusine 134 The kinge receyued hym moche benyngly and demanded to hym som tydynges. |
5. To ask for (a person) to come or be produced; to ask to see; to require to appear; to summon.
| 1650 Fuller Pisgah ii. xii. 257 And first in a fair way the offenders are demanded to justice. 1848 C. Brontë J. Eyre xxxiv, While the driver and Hannah brought in the boxes, they demanded St. John. |
6. fig. Said of things: a. To call for of right or justice; to require.
| [1292 Britton i. ix. §1 Et poet estre treysoun graunt et petit; dunt acun demaund jugement de mort, et acun amissioun de membre [etc.].] 1703 Pope Thebais 3 Th' alternate reign destroy'd by impious arms Demands our song. 1779 Cowper Lett. 2 Oct., Two pair of soles, with shrimps which arrived last night demand my acknowledgments. 1836 J. Gilbert Chr. Atonem. vi. (1852) 168 Holiness may demand, but not desire the punishment of transgressors. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xvii. 93 The piety of the Duke demanded that the ceremony should be no longer delayed. |
b. To call for or require as necessary; to have need of.
| 1748 F. Smith Voy. Disc. N.-W. Pass. I. 145 Keep the Water..from going down faster, than the [Beaver] Dams which are below the House demand it. 1855 Bain Senses & Int. ii. ii. §6 Sensibility everywhere demands a distribution of nerve fibres. 1878 Morley Carlyle Crit. Misc. Ser. i. 199 Government..more than anything else in this world demands skill, patience, energy, long and tenacious grip. |
** a person for or to do a thing.
† 7. To ask (a person) authoritatively, peremptorily, urgently, etc. for (a thing); to require (a person) to do a thing. Obs.
| 1632 W. Lithgow Trav. x. 482, I intreated Sir Richard Halkins to goe a shoare to the Governour, and demand him for my Gold. 1652 J. Wadsworth tr. Sandoval's Civ. Wars Spain 22 Hee demanded the Catalanes to receiv, and acknowledg him their King. 1726–7 Swift Guillver i. iii. 49 After they were read, I was demanded to swear to the performance of them. 1795 Cicely I. 37 He demanded the traitor to give up his lovely prize. |
*** intr.
† 8. To make a demand; to ask for or after; to call urgently for. Obs.
| a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lx. 208 Huon approchyd to the shyppe and demaundyd for the patrone and for the mayster of them that were in the shyppe. 1605 Shakes. Lear iii. ii. 65 Which euen but now, demanding after you, Deny'd me to come in. 1654 R. Codrington tr. Justine 200 To free himself of it, he demanded for a sword. |
II. To ask (authoritatively) to know or be told:
* a thing.
9. To ask to know, authoritatively or formally; to request to be told.
| [1292 Britton i. v. §9 Qe il verite dirrount de ceo qe hom les demaundera de par nous.] 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Baptism, Then the prieste shall demaunde the name of the childe. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. Argt., They..finding Lucrece attired in mourning habit, demanded the cause of her sorrow. 1600 E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 262 The Portugals demaunded the state of the realme. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 77 In bravery and shew of insolence, demanding her businesse. 1818 Shelley Rev. Islam iii. vii, Ere with rapid lips and gathered brow I could demand the cause. 1859 Tennyson Enid 193 And Guinevere..desired his name and sent Her maiden to demand it of the dwarf. |
b. with the object expressed by a clause.
| 1494 Fabyan Chron. i. xiv. 14 Y⊇ fader..demaunded of Ragan, the seconde doughter, how wel she loued hym. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 200 b, Demaundyng & enquiryng, where is he y{supt} is borne the kyng of y⊇ iewes. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 226 She demaunded howe her Uncle the French king did. 1615 E. Hoby Curry-combe 80 You should rather demand from him What likenese there is between 34 and 42. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xiv, The old gentleman..most respectfully demanded if I was in any way related to the great Primrose. 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 23 All the members demanded with one voice who it was who was charged with the crime of theft. |
† 10. With cognate object: To ask (a question, etc.). Obs.
| 1502 Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) i. iii. 16 Which demaundeth a questyon. 1577 J. Northbrooke Dicing (1843) 62 Saye on..what you haue to demande, and I will answere you. 1602 W. Fulbecke 1st Pt. Parall. 50 Then I know your opinion as touching this question, now let me demaund another. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. Ded. §15 It asketh some knowledge to demand a question, not impertinent. |
** a person (as to a thing).
† 11. To ask (a person) authoritatively or formally to inform one (of, how, etc.). Obs.
| c 1450 Crt. of Love (R.), And me demaunded how and in what wise I thither come, and what my errand was. c 1477 Caxton Jason 18 She..demanded him how he felte him self and how he ferde. a 1536 Calisto & Mel. in Hazl. Dodsley I. 85 I demand thee not thereof. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. iii. vi. 92 When we haue supp'd Wee'l mannerly demand thee of thy Story. 1632 W. Lithgow Trav. i. 38, I demanded our dependant, what was to pay? |
b. without extension.
| 1490 Caxton How to Die 11 Yf there be none to demaunde hym, he oughte to demaunde hymselfe. 1555 Eden Decades 5 They declared the same to me when I demanded them. |
c. in pass.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 16 Demaunded by Pharao of what age he was, Jacob answered. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 277 They were demaunded why they departed. 1635 Sibbes Soul's Confl. Pref. (1638) 9 Philip..being a long time prisoner..was demanded what upheld him all that time. 1643 Prynne Sov. Power Parl. i. (ed. 2) 91 Had our Ancestors..been demanded these few questions. 1722 Sewel Hist. Quakers (1795) II. vii. 11 Being demanded in the Court why he did not tell his name. |
*** intr.
12. To ask, inquire, make inquiry. a. of, † at the person asked; † b. of the object asked about.
| 1382 Wyclif Bible, Pref. Ep. iv. 65 The Saueour..askynge of questiouns of the lawe, more techeth, whil he prudentli demaundeth [1388 while he askith wisely questiouns]. 1526 Tindale Luke iii. 14 The soudyoures lyke wyse demaunded of hym sayinge: and what shall we do? 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 205 The king..helde her still by the right hande, demaundyng right gently of her estate and businesse. 1588 King tr. Canisius' Catech. 208 Quhen God sal rise to iudge, and quhen he sal demand at me quhat sal I answer? 1611 Bible Job xlii. 4 Heare..I will demand of thee, and declare thou vnto me. 1821 Shelley Prometh. Unb. ii. iv. 141 The immortal Hours, Of whom thou didst demand. |
Hence deˈmanded ppl. a.
| 1552 in Huloet. 1769 Oxford Mag. II. 143/2 The demanded qualification is a merciful soul, if we would experience mercy. 1815 M. Pilkington Celebrity III. 152 The demanded drugs were sold without exciting the smallest suspicion. |