Demand

How to spell demand

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce demand

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does demand mean?

1. verbTo ask for something forcefully, as if it cannot be refused.
2. nounAn insistent request, or the level of desire for a product or service.

Demand in a sentence

• verb

  The workers demand a fair wage from their employer.

• noun

  Consumer demand for electric cars rose sharply this year.

• verb

  Angry customers demand a full refund at the desk.

• noun

  The union presented a clear demand for shorter hours.

Where does demand come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin demandare, which originally meant 'to entrust' or 'to commit something to someone's care'. It was built from the prefix de-, here acting as an intensifier, and mandare, meaning 'to order' or 'to hand over', itself rooted in manus 'hand' and dare 'to give'; the literal sense was something placed into another's hand. English took the word through Old French in the early 1300s, where demander had already shifted toward the meaning 'to ask' or 'to require'. Over time the English sense hardened from a simple request into the forceful, insistent asking we know today. The same mandare root survives in relatives such as 'command', 'mandate', and 'commend', which is a useful clue that the middle of the word is spelled 'man', not 'men'.

How the word is built

• de- (formally, down)
• mand (from mandare: to order, entrust)