Etymograph

English

demosponge

Demosponge comes from Ancient Greek δῆμος ‘common people’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδῆμος1dêmos‘common people’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1991demosponge1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English demosponge
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1991, R. Wood, Non-Spicular Biomineralization in Calcified Demosponges: “We know that at least some living calcified demosponges…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδῆμοςWiktionary, English demospongedêmos‘common people’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1991demospongeWiktionary, English demosponge. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1991, R. Wood, Non-Spicular Biomineralization in Calcified Demosponges: “We know that at least some living calcified demosponges…”

Linked words

through Ancient Greek δῆμος ‘common people’

democratic, academic, democracy, democrat, pandemic, endemic, demography, demiurge, demotic, 27 more

Today it means

noun A sponge of the class Demospongiae, having skeletons made of spongin fibers.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “demosponge”. 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 / Ancient Greek δῆμος / demosponge

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