Pronounced: ap-roh-BAY-shuhn, noun
Notes: I thought I knew the definition, but I was wrong
Yesterday’s word
The word demean means “to conduct or behave (oneself) usually in a proper manner”
First usage
Our word came into English in the second half of the 1200s
Background / Comments
I was surprised when I read the definition; I thought demean meant something like “to lower in standing”. It turns out that there are two words spelled demean with different meanings and different origins. Our word came from the Anglo-French verb demener (to conduct), which came from the Latin word minare (to drive). Just for completeness, the other word demean comes from the word mean (spiteful).
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 