demi-

prefix

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Proto-Indo-European *me Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-? Proto-Indo-European *-dʰe Proto-Indo-European *médʰi Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos Proto-Italic *meðjos Latin medius Latin dīmidius Vulgar Latin *dimediusder. Anglo-Norman demibor. Middle English demi English demi- From Middle English demi (“half, half-sized, partial”), from Anglo-Norman demi (“half”), from Vulgar Latin *dimedius, from Latin dīmidius, from dis- (“apart; in two”) + medius (“middle”).

1. partial
2. half
3. Only the upper or front half of

   “The Barony of Pennicuik, the property of Sir George Clerk, Bart., is held by the following singular tenure: The proprietor is bound to sit upon a large rock, called the Buckstone, and wind three blasts of a horn when the king comes to hunt on the Borough Moor near Edinburgh. On account of this singular custom the family have adopted as their crest a demi-forester proper, winding a horn with the motto, Free for a blast.”