demimonde
/ˈdɛmiˌmɑnd/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.39 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A class of women maintained by wealthy protectors; female courtesans or prostitutes as a group.
noun
A group having little respect or reputation.
Example Sentences
- "A most remarkable instance of this was afforded in the play of Camille by the performance of the supper-scene. The stage in this scene is supposed to represent a supper-room, enlivened by the presence of a party of young Parisians, more gay, indeed, than respectable, but still Parisians, and Parisians of the demimonde, which, of the two halves that go to make up the whole of the monde, preserves the hemisphere of manners while it throws away the hemisphere of decorum."
- "To give a good and solid education to the gentle sex would tend to double the army of progress, to draw closer the domestic relations, and to annihilate that extra-conjugal society (the demi[-]monde of [Alexandre] Dumas the younger) which is now so very prosperous."
- "Paris society borrows fashions from the demi-monde, and the demi-monde borrows manners from the extravagant princesses, countesses, and viscountesses. All Parie has been stirred with the Sardanapalian entertainment, which a leader of the demi-monde gave on the eve of Lent to the best male society in the Empire. The ladies were all unquestionably from young [Alexandre] Dumas' panier à quinze sous; but their manners and their toilettes were, we are told, all that could be desired."
- "Skating Rinks are chiefly patronised by members of the demi[-]monde."
- "Racing is confined almost exclusively to the upper and middle classes in Hungary, though it is always attended by numbers of the demi[-]monde."
- "This is the last straw. In your infatuation for this man—a man who is notorious for his excesses, a man your father would not have allowed to so much as mention your name—you have reflected the demi-monde rather than the circles in which you have presumably grown up."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdɛmiˌmɑnd/
- British English: /ˈdɛmiːmɒnd/