Demy
noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A printing paper size, 17½ inches by 22½ inches. countable, uncountable
- 2 One holding a demyship, a kind of scholarship for Magdalen College, Oxford. colloquial, countable, uncountable
"1781, Samuel Johnson, Addison, Lives of the Poets, 1840, Arthur Murphy (editor), The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL. D., Volume 2, page 132, […] by whose recommendations he was elected into Magdalen College as a demy; a term by which that society denominates those elsewhere called scholars, young men who partake of the founder's benefaction, and succeed in their order to vacant fellowships; […]"
- 3 Junior scholar, specifically at Magdalen College, Oxford. countable, uncountable
"William Lily was admitted as a dumy to Magdalen College, Oxford, by November 1486, at the age of seventeen"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"1781, Samuel Johnson, Addison, Lives of the Poets, 1840, Arthur Murphy (editor), The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL. D., Volume 2, page 132, […] by whose recommendations he was elected into Magdalen College as a demy; a term by which that society denominates those elsewhere called scholars, young men who partake of the founder's benefaction, and succeed in their order to vacant fellowships; […]"
Etymology
* (scholarship): From Latin demi-socii (“half-fellows”); see socius.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.