demand (English)
Where does "demand" come from?
The word 'demand' traces back to the Latin compound 'dēmandō,' which originally meant to entrust or commit something to another's care. It evolved into the Old French 'demander' and later entered Middle English, shifting its focus from giving responsibility to making a forceful request or query.
Full etymology tree
- demand (English), 'To request forcefully.'
- inherited demaunden (Middle English), 'To question; to request.'
- borrowed demander (Old French), 'to ask'
- derived dēmandō (Latin), 'to entrust, commit'
- compound dē- (Latin), 'of; from'
- inherited *dē (Proto-Italic)
- inherited *déh₁ (Proto-Indo-European), 'toward'
- inherited *dē (Proto-Italic)
- compound mandō (Latin), 'to order, command, enjoin'
- inherited *manuðō (Proto-Italic), 'to hand over'
- compound *manus (Proto-Italic), 'hand'
- compound *-ðō (Proto-Italic), 'to put'
- inherited *dʰeh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to do'
- inherited *manuðō (Proto-Italic), 'to hand over'
- compound dē- (Latin), 'of; from'
- derived dēmandō (Latin), 'to entrust, commit'
- borrowed demander (Old French), 'to ask'
- inherited demaunden (Middle English), 'To question; to request.'
Direct ancestors
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris