demerit
pronunciation
How to pronounce demerit in British English:
UK [di:ˈmerɪt]
How to pronounce demerit in American English:
US [dɪˈmɛrɪt]
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- Noun:
- a mark against a person for misconduct or failure; usually given in school or armed forces
- the quality of being inadequate or falling short of perfection
Word Origin
- demerit
- demerit: [14] A demerit may be virtually the opposite of a merit, but the word was not formed, as might be supposed, by adding the prefix de-, denoting oppositeness or reversal, to merit. Its distant ancestor was Latin demeritum, from the verb demereri ‘deserve’, where the de- prefix meant not ‘opposite of’ but ‘completely’ (as it does too in, for example, denude and despoil).Add this de- to mereri ‘deserve’ and you get ‘deserve thoroughly’. However, at some point in the Middle Ages the prefix began to be reinterpreted as ‘opposite’, and medieval Latin demeritum came to mean ‘fault’ – the sense that reached English via French démérite.
- demerit (n.)
- late 14c., from Old French desmerite "blame, demerit" (Modern French démérite), from des- "not, opposite" (see dis-) + merite "merit" (see merit (n.)). Latin demereri meant "to merit, deserve," from de- in its completive sense. But Medieval Latin demeritum meant "fault." Both senses existed in the Middle French form of the word. Meaning "penalty point in school" is attested from 1862.
Example
- 1. What do you think about your merit and demerit ? Can you give some example ?
- 2. However , the demerit is that it can take an awfully long time to reach a consensus the larger the number of people involved .
- 3. Page after page reveals a writer or a novel unread , and therefore a demerit on the great report card of one 's cultural life .
- 4. Each strategy has its own merits and demerit and one can choose any depending upon his or her trading style .
- 5. When you look in the mirror , make yourself find at least one good point for every demerit you give . Become aware of your positives .