Demeaning

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. To act in a manner that degrades another's dignity or self-respect
2. Behaving in a way that lowers someone’s sense of worth or importance
3. Treating someone so that they feel insulted or reduced in status

Etymology: The surprising part is that "demean" had two separate origins that the modern word blurs together. The sense of degrading someone comes from "mean" in the sense of lowly or base, from Old English "gemǣne" meaning common, so to demean someone was to bring them down to a low or common level. This is the sense that gave us "demeaning" today, describing treatment that strips away a person's standing or dignity. A second, older root lies behind the verb's other sense, to conduct oneself or behave. That comes via Middle English "demenen" and Anglo-Norman "demener" from Old French "demener", meaning to conduct or lead, which traces back to Latin "minārī", to threaten. The two strands merged in English, so the verb picked up the idea of behaving, and the "mean" strand supplied the sense of lowering. Since "demean" was first recorded in 1595, the adjective has followed the verb's degrading sense. The "de-" prefix simply intensifies the idea of downward movement, as in "debase" or "degrade".

Synonyms: humiliating, belittling, disparaging, degrading, shaming

Antonyms: honoring, respectful, uplifting