demi-
"demi" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“demi-” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prefix. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - partial
Corpus desk
Index EN-demi · demi- · English
demi- · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | demi- |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prefix |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “demi-” in English
Rare enough to double-check
demi- is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprefix. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for demi- in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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”). The correct English form is demi-, spelled D-E-M-I--.
Definition
- 1partial
- 2half
- 3Only the upper or front half of
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how demi- appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
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-…
Etymology
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”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.