Demonstrate
/ˈdɛmən.streɪt/noun
To clearly show or prove something by example, evidence, or explanation.
Did you know?Demonstrate comes from Latin demonstrāre, literally to “show fully,” built from de- (“completely”) + monstrare (“to show”), the same root behind monster and monstrous—because in ancient Latin, to “show” could carry a strangely charged sense of revealing something powerful.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*men-
“to think, remember, have in mind”
Latin
Latin
monēre
“to warn, advise, remind”
Latin
Latin
monstrāre
“to show, point out”
Latin
Latin
dēmonstrāre
“to show clearly, indicate, prove”
Old French
Old French
demonstrer
“to show clearly, prove”
Middle English
English
demonstraten
“to show plainly or prove”