▪ I. † deˈmean, n. Obs.
Also 5 demene, 6 demayne.
[f. demean v.1]
1. Bearing, behaviour, demeanour.
| c 1450 Crt. of Love 734 But somewhat strange and sad of her demene She is. 1534 More On the Passion Wks. 1292/2 For which demeane, besyde y⊇ sentence of deth condicionally pronounced..god..declared after certeyne other punishmentes. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. ix. 40 Another Damsell..That was right fayre and modest of demayne. 1607 Beaum. & Fl. Woman Hater iii. iv, You sewers, carvers, ushers of the court, Sirnamed gentle for your fair demean. 1692 J. Salter Triumphs Jesus 2 She was a Virgin of severe demean. a 1756 G. West On Travelling (R.), These she..would shew, With grave demean and solemn vanity. |
2. Treatment (of others).
| 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. vi. 18 All the vile demeane and usage bad, With which he had those two so ill bestad. |
▪ II. demean, v.1
(dɪˈmiːn)
Forms: 4–5 demeyn(e, demein(e, 4–6 demene, (5 demeene, dymene), 4–6 (chiefly Sc.) demane, 4–7 (chiefly Sc.) demayn(e, demain(e, 5 demesne, 5–7 demeane, 6 demean.
[a. OF. demene-r (in Ch. de Roland 11th c.), also deminer, -maner, -moner (pres. t. il demeine, demaine) to lead, exercise, practise, employ, treat, direct, etc., se demener to carry or conduct oneself, = Pr. demenar, It. dimenare, a Romanic deriv. of de- prefix + menare, F. mener to lead, conduct, etc.:—L. mināre, orig. (= minārī) to threaten, in post-cl. L. ‘to drive or conduct’ cattle, and, by transference, ships, men, etc. The demaine, demane forms, found chiefly in Sc., are perhaps derived from the OF. tonic form demeine, demaine. Demesne is taken over from the n. so spelt.]
† 1. trans. To conduct, carry on (a business, action, etc.); to manage, deal with, employ. Obs.
| c 1315 Shoreham 167 Thaȝ hy[t] be thorȝ senne demeyned. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 2196 Scheo..well couþe demeyne richeyse. c 1440 Lydg. Secrees 4 Alle his Empryses demenyd wern and lad By thavys..Of Arystotiles witt and providence. c 1449 Pecock Repr. iii. vi. 312 Cristis..abstenyng fro temporal vnmovable possessiouns lettith not preestis for to hem take.. and weel demene into gode vsis. 1490 Caxton Eneydos iv. 19 For to demeane this to effecte. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxxxv. 219 So often they went bytwene the parties, and so sagely demeaned their busynesse. 1529 More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. Wks. 1207/2 Euen for hys riches alone, though he demened it neuer so wel. 1613 Sir H. Finch Law (1636) 21 These vses being turned into estates shall be demeaned in all respects as estates in possession. 1644 Milton Areop. (Arb.) 68 As our obdurat Clergy have with violence demean'd the matter. |
† b. To lead (one's life, days).
| 1413 Lydg. Pilgr. Sowle iv. ii. (1483) 59 How they demenen the dayes of theyr lyues. |
† c. To express, exhibit (sorrow, joy, mirth, etc.). Obs. (= ME. lead in same sense.)
[Cf. Cotgr. demener le dueil de, to lament, or mourne for; demener ioye, to rejoyce, make merrie, be glad.]
| c 1400 Rom. Rose 5238 For hert fulfilled of gentilnesse, Can yvel demene his distresse. c 1477 Caxton Jason 69 They began to crye and demene the gretteste sorowe of the world. c 1489 ― Blanchardyn iv. 21 Suffryng theym to demayne theire rewthis and complayntes. 1564 Haward Eutropius iii. 31 There was great myrth demeaned at Rome after theese newes. 1565 Golding Ovid's Met. viii. (1593) 195 Then all the hunters shouting out demeaned joie ynough. 1607 Heywood Woman Killed v. iv, With what strange vertue he demeanes his greefe. |
† d. To produce, or keep up (a sound). Obs. [So in OF.]
| 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 407/2 The leuys of the trees demened a swete sounde whiche came by a wynde agreable. |
† 2. To handle, manipulate, manage (instruments, tools, weapons, etc.). Obs.
| c 1300 K. Alis. 663 The fyve him taught to skyrme and ride, And to demayne an horsis bride [= bridle]. c 1325 Coer de L. 456 What knyght..coude best his crafte For to demene well his shafte. c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame 959 Lo, is it not a grete myschaunce To lat a fool han gouernaunce Of thing that he can not demeyne? |
† 3. To manage (a person, country, etc.); to direct, rule, govern, control. Obs.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xx. 396 The kyng..Wes enterit in the land of spanȝe, All haill the cuntre till [de]manȝe. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1988 The Kynge..Demenys the medylwarde menskfully hyme selfene. c 1440 Generydes 4622, I am your child, demeane me as ye list. c 1470 Harding Chron. cxl. ii, [He gave] Ierusalem to Henry..With all Surry [= Syria], to haue and to demain. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. II. 766 To the ende that themselves would alone demeane and governe the king at their pleasure. |
† 4. To deal with or treat (any one) in a specified way. b. esp. (chiefly in Sc. writers) To treat badly, illtreat, maltreat. Obs.
| 1393 Gower Conf. I. 196 And thought he wolde upon the night Demene her at his owne wille. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 1582 Lord, demene me with mesuer! 1509–10 Act 1 Hen. VIII, c. 20 §1 Merchauntz denysyns..[shall] be well and honestely intreated and demeaned. 1595 Spenser Col. Clout 681 Cause have I none..To quite them ill, that me demeand so well. 1682 Lond. Gaz. No. 1682/1 The Lords Commissioners of Justiciary..Decerne and Adjudge the said Archibald Earl of Argile to be Execute to the Death, Demained as a Traitor, and to underly the pains of Treason. 1685 Argyll's Declar. in Crookshank Hist. Ch. Scotl. (1751) II. 316 (Jam.) Demeaning and executing them..as the most desperate traitors. |
| b. 1375 Barbour Bruce xi. 609 Full dyspitfully Thair fais demanit thaim rycht stratly. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 238/2 In the fornais of fyre of fayth he was destrayned, smeton, demened and beten [L. feriebatur and perducebatur]. 1513 Douglas æneis ix. viii. 52 Sall I the se demanyt on sik wys? 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. vii. 39 That mighty man did her demeane With all the evill termes, and cruell meane, That he could make. a 1651 Calderwood Hist. Kirk (1842–6) III. 69 Putt a barrell of powder under me, rather than I would be demained after this manner. |
† 5. To deal, distribute, hand over. Obs.
| 1439 E.E. Wills (1882) 114 The thirde parte to be demenyd and yoven..to pore peple. a 1656 Ussher Ann. (1658) 461 In lieu of Cyprus, to demeane unto him certain Cities with a yearly allowance of corn. |
6. refl. [from 1] To behave, conduct or comport oneself (in a specified way). The only existing sense: cf. demeanour.
| c 1320 Sir Beues 3651 So Beues demeinede him þat dai. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Egipciane 557 Bot I lefit nocht þane myne syned, Bot me demaynyt as I dyd are. 1413 Lydg. Pilgr. Sowle i. xv. (1859) 12, I haue none experyence of wysedom, how my selue to demene. c 1450 Crt. of Love 731 Demene you lich a maid With shamefast drede. 1530 Palsgr. 511/1, I demeane, or behave my selfe..Je me porte..je me demayne. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 349 Your subjectes have lovyngly demeaned themselves unto you. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. iv. iii. 83 Now out of doubt Antipholus is mad, Else would he neuer so demeane himselfe. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia iii. i. 43 So well he demeaned himselfe in this businesse. 1682 Norris Hierocles 31 We should..demean ourselves soberly and justly towards all. 1711 Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) I. i. iii. 191 To demean himself like a Gentleman. 1821 Southey in Q. Rev. XXV. 305 No man who engaged in the rebellion demeaned himself throughout its course so honourably and so humanely. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. I. 109 The Prince Borghese certainly demeans himself like a kind and liberal gentleman. |
b. fig. of things.
| 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 150 b margin, How will demeaneth itselfe passively and actively. 1644 Milton Areop. (Arb.) 35 To have a vigilant eye how Bookes demeane themselves as well as men. 1854 J. Scoffern in Orr's Circ. Sc. Chem. 287 In many of its relations it [hydrogen] demeans itself so much like a metal, that [etc.]. |
† c. with an object equivalent to the refl. pronoun. Obs.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints Prol. 81 Hou scho demanyt hir flesche, Til [= while] saule & body to-gydir ves. c 1400 Destr. Troy 3925 Troilus..demenyt well his maners & be mesure wroght. 1633 Ford Broken H. i. ii, How doth the youthful general demean His actions in these fortunes? 1649 Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. Pref. §12 That man demean and use his own body in that decorum which [etc.]. |
† d. absol. (Cf. behave 3.) Obs.
| 1703 Penn in Pa. Hist. Soc. Mem. IX. 206 How to demean towards them, least there should be any alterations in their tempers. 1703 Rules of Civility ix, How we are to demean at our Entrance into a Noblemans House. |
† 7. pass. To be behaved, to behave or conduct oneself: = prec. sense. Obs. Cf. demeaned.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce v. 229, I wald ga se..how my men demanit are. c 1450 Merlin 79 We pray yow to yeve us counseile..how we myght beste be demened in this matere. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 60 It was affirmed (that being with loyalty demeaned) you should at length receive the reward of..glory. |
¶ 8. app. To bear or have in mind; to remember. Obs. (? Associated or confused with mean v.)
| c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 1163 [A mershall] Whensoeuer youre sovereyn a feest make shall, demeene what estates shalle sitte in the hall. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. 625 But it is to demeane and presuppose that the entent of hym was nat good. c 1530 H. Rhodes Bk. Nurture 356 in Babees Bk. (1868) 81 Then giue good eare to heare some grace, to washe your selfe demeane. |
▪ III. demean, v.2
(dɪˈmiːn)
[f. de- I. 1 + mean a., prob. after debase: cf. also bemean v.3
It has been suggested that this originated in a misconception of demean v.1 in certain constructions, such as that of quot. 1596 in 4 b, and 1590 in sense 6 of that vb. (Johnson actually puts the latter quot. under the sense ‘debase’.) It is rare before 1700, and the only 17th c. quots. (1601, 1659 below) are somewhat doubtful. Quot. 1751 in sense 2 shows how in certain contexts demean may be taken in either sense. See monograph on the word by Dr. Fitzedward Hall in (New York) Nation, May 7, 1891.]
1. trans. To lower in condition, status, reputation or character.
| 1601 R. Abbot Kingdom of Christ 5 (L.) In his birth and life and death, far demeaned beneath all kingly state. 1715 J. Barker Exilius i. 59 By it [jealousy] we demean the Person we love, through unworthy Suspicion. 1716 M. Davies Athen. Brit. ii. 140 The Author [is] demean'd, if not actively and passively ridicul'd. 1734 tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1827) I. ii. iii. 306 Without any way demeaning or aspersing poverty. 1862 Hawthorne Our Old Home (1883) I. 106 There is an elbow-chair by the fireside which it would not demean his dignity to fill. |
2. esp. refl. To lower or humble oneself.
| 1659 Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 373, I incline rather to have Masters of Chancery attend you, and go on errands on both sides. It will cut off all debates about ceremonies, of your members going up and demeaning themselves, or of their demeaning themselves here. 1720 Lett. fr. Mist's Jrnl. (1722) I. 306 That Men of Honour and Estate should demean themselves by base condescension. a 1751 Doddridge Fam. Expos. §169 (T.) It is a thousand times fitter that I should wash thine [feet]; nor can I bear to see thee demean thyself thus. 1754 Richardson Grandison IV. xviii. 140 A woman is looked upon as demeaning herself, if she gains a maintenance by her needle. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair vi. (1856) 40 It was, of course, Mrs. Sedley's opinion that her son would demean himself by a marriage with an artist's daughter. 1876 Black Madcap V. xxix. 260 Could a girl so far demean herself as to ask for love? |
b. Const. to or to do (what is beneath one).
| 1764 Foote Mayor of G. ii. ii, Have I, sirrah, demean'd myself to wed such a thing, such a reptile as thee! 1767 S. Paterson Another Trav. I. 427 This lesser philosophy engagingly demeans itself to all characters and situations. 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede 15 This woman's kin wouldn't like her to demean herself to a common carpenter. 1861 Sat. Rev. 30 Nov. 551 They would not demean themselves to submit to this sort of paltry tutelage. |
▪ IV. † deˈmean, a. Obs.
[app. an extended form of mean adj.; perh. from confusion of mesne, demesne.]
Of middle position, middle-class, middling.
| c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 382 Y am her bote a demeyne kniȝt of þe realme of fraunce [orig. draft Y am her a meyne knyȝt]. |
▪ V. demean, demeane
earlier forms of demesne.