English
deme
Deme comes from Ancient Greek δῆμος ‘district’, from Proto-Indo-European *déh₂mos ‘part, division’, and ultimately from *deh₂- ‘to share, divide’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂-1‘to share, divide’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déh₂mos1‘part, division’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*dā́mos1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδῆμος2dêmos‘district’
- Englishearliest quotation 1945deme2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δῆμος
- 2 Wiktionary, English deme
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1945, Elizabeth Gidley Withycombe, Introduction: “If two persons bore the same name[…] ambiguity was…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δῆμος‘to share, divide’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déh₂mosWiktionary, Ancient Greek δῆμος‘part, division’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*dā́mosWiktionary, Ancient Greek δῆμοςreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδῆμοςWiktionary, English demedêmos‘district’
- Englishearliest quotation 1945demeWiktionary, English deme. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1945, Elizabeth Gidley Withycombe, Introduction: “If two persons bore the same name[…] ambiguity was…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *deh₂- ‘to share, divide’
through Ancient Greek δῆμος ‘district’
democratic, academic, democracy, democrat, pandemic, endemic, demos, demography, demiurge, demotic, 26 more
Today it means
noun A township or other subdivision of ancient Attica.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “deme”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek δῆμος. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *deh₂- / deme