Demur
/dɪˈmɜːr/noun
To raise objections or show reluctance; in older legal use, to pause on a point of law.
Did you know?Demur comes from the same Latin root as ‘mature’ and ‘immature’: the idea of ‘staying’ or ‘lingering’ before moving, which is why it came to mean pausing or objecting.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
morari
“to delay, linger, stay”
Late Latin
Latin
demorari
“to delay oneself, linger, tarry”
Old French
Old French
demorer
“to remain, stay, delay”
Middle English
English
demuren
“to linger, hesitate; later, to object formally”
Modern English
English
demur
“to object or show reluctance”