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.
Examples of demarcate in a Sentence
Ryan Coleman Published, EW.com, 17 July 2025
Key takeaways: What is dry stone walling? Civilizations from Stone Age Scotland to the eighth-century Maya to 13th-century African empires have used dry stone walling to demarcate borders.
—Jennie Rothenberg Gritz, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 July 2025
Land Cruisers vie with battered pick-up trucks for prime real estate just beyond the white fence that demarcates the ring.
—Camilla Wright, semafor.com, 11 July 2025
The show unfurls chronologically and thematically, each subject demarcated with vivid walls thanks to the set design by Paf Atelier under the artistic direction of Anette Lenz, who was inspired by Poiret’s use of bold Fauvist colors throughout his career.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for demarcate
Cite this Entry
“Demarcate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demarcate. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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demarcate
verb
ˈdē-ˌmär-
Medical Definition
demarcate
transitive verb
ˈdē-ˌ
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