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English word origin

Etymology of demos

From Ancient Greek δῆμος (dêmos, “ordinary citizens, common people from a district, in a city-state”). Doublet of deme.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

An ancient subdivision of Attica; (now also) a Greek municipality, an administrative area covering a city or several villages together. · The ordinary citizens of an ancient Greek city-state; hence, the common populace of a state or district (especially a democratic one); the people.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Ancient Greek δῆμος (dêmos, “ordinary citizens, common people from a district, in a city-state”). Doublet of deme.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "δῆμος",
        "4": "",
        "5": "ordinary citizens, common people from a district, in a city-state"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek δῆμος (dêmos, “ordinary citizens, common people from a district, in a city-state”)"
    },
    {
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "deme"
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    }
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    ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

plural of demo

verb

third-person singular simple present indicative of demo

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "lexical": [
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      "glosses": [
        "plural of demo"
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        "third-person singular simple present indicative of demo"
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for demos →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
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Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZGVtb3M