demarcate
verb
ˈdē-ˌmär-
Shanay Cadette
Did you know?
It’s reasonable to assume that demarcate inspired the noun demarcation—many a noun has been formed by adding the suffix -ion to an existing verb. But in this case you'd also be wrong; demarcation came first, with the verb demarcate following as a back-formation. We can ultimately thank Spanish for both: the Spanish noun demarcación (from demarcar, "to delimit") was used in 1493 to name a meridian dividing New World territory between Spain and Portugal. (A Spanish-born pope chose a meridian that favored Spain greatly.) Centuries later, English speakers began calling this boundary the "line of demarcation," and eventually applied that phrase to other dividing lines as well. By the early 19th century, demarcation had been verbified to create demarcate.
Synonyms
Examples of demarcate in a Sentence
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2024
Members of the Armadillos built wooden crosses to demarcate potential migrant remains found during their searches.
—Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 19 Sep. 2024
The husband’s concerns about noise in a busy, if not chaotic, household, were addressed by installing upholstered walls in the dining room and in the primary bedroom, where timbers reclaimed from the renovation demarcate the high-ceilinged space.
—Michael Boodro, Architectural Digest, 9 Sep. 2024
The death toll among Palestinians has risen to nearly 40,000, according to the health ministry there, whose numbers do not demarcate between civilians and combatants.
—Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near demarcate
Cite this Entry
“Demarcate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demarcate. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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demarcate
verb
ˈdē-ˌmär-
Medical Definition
demarcate
transitive verb
ˈdē-ˌ
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