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Today's Word "demur"

To take exception on

Published in Vocabulary

demur \dih-MUR\ (intransitive verb) - 1 : To object; to take exception. 2 : To delay.

(noun) - 1 : The act of demurring. 2 : Objection. 3 : Delay.

"To the surprise of the ship's company, though much to the lieutenant's satisfaction, Billy made no demur. But, indeed, any demur would have been as idle as the protest of a goldfinch popped into a cage." -- Herman Melville, 'Billy Budd'

 

Demur comes from Old French demorer, "to linger, to stay," from Latin demorari, from de- + morari, "to delay, to loiter," from mora, "a delay."


 

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