Etymograph

English

demonize

Demonize comes from Medieval Latin daemonizō, from Latin daemon ‘a genius loci, a lar, the protective spirit or…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- ‘to share, to divide’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂y-1‘to share, to divide’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίομαι1daíomai‘to divide’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίμων2‘dispenser, god, protective spirit’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdaemon3‘a genius loci, a lar, the protective spirit or godling of a place or household’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500daemonizō3
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2020demonize3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμων
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin daemon
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English demonize
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2020, Peter Baker, Trump has a long history of language that incites and demoni: “President Trump has seized on the response in the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₂y-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμων‘to share, to divide’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίομαιWiktionary, Ancient Greek δαίμωνdaíomai‘to divide’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδαίμωνWiktionary, Latin daemon‘dispenser, god, protective spirit’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdaemonWiktionary, English demonize‘a genius loci, a lar, the protective spirit or godling of a place or household’
  5. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500daemonizōWiktionary, English demonize
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2020demonizeWiktionary, English demonize. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2020, Peter Baker, Trump has a long history of language that incites and demoni: “President Trump has seized on the response in the…”

Equivalent to demon + -ize

Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- ‘to share, to divide’

Ancient Greek δαίομαι ‘to divide’

Ancient Greek δαίμων ‘dispenser, god, protective spirit’

Medieval Latin dēmōn ‘lar, familiar spirit, guardian spirit’

Middle English demon ‘demon, devil, malicious spirit’

English demon

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- ‘to share, to divide’

time, till, til, tide, tease, tass, 24 more

through Ancient Greek δαίμων ‘dispenser, god, protective spirit’

daimon, 16 more

through Latin daemon ‘a genius loci, a lar, the protective spirit or…’

daemon, 1 more

Today it means

verb To turn into a demon.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “demonize”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek δαίμων, Latin daemon. 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 *deh₂y- / demonize

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