demarcation
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word demarcation. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word demarcation, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say demarcation in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word demarcation you have here. The definition of the word demarcation will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofdemarcation, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: démarcation
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
First recorded c.1752, from Spanish línea de demarcación and/or Portuguese linha de demarcação, the demarcation line laid down by the Pope on May 4, 1493, dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal on a line 100 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. Both derive from demarcar, from de- + marcar (“to mark”), from Italian marcare, from the same Germanic root as march.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˌdɛm.ɑːˈkeɪ.ʃən/, /ˌdiː.mɑːˈkeɪ.ʃən/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
- (US, Canada) IPA(key): /ˌdɛm.ɑɹˈkeɪ.ʃən/, /ˌdi.mɑɹˈkeɪ.ʃən/
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˌdiː.maːˈkæɪ.ʃən/
- Rhymes: -eɪʃən
Noun
demarcation (countable and uncountable, plural demarcations)
- The act of marking off a boundary or setting a limit, notably by belligerents signing a treaty or ceasefire.
- A limit thus fixed, in full demarcation line.
- 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Romance and Reality. , volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, , →OCLC, pages 48–49:
- About sunset, he was leaning on the remains of an old wall, which had once probably surrounded a Roman encampment, and now served as a line of demarcation between two villages, as jealous of each other's claims as near neighbours usually are.
- Any strictly defined separation.
- There is an alleged, in fact somewhat artificial demarcation in the type of work done by members of different trade unions.
- 1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 7:
- In the sea there is no demarcation between the hunter and the hunted, as there is on the African plains.
Derived terms
- demarcate (back-formation)
- demarcated
Related terms
Translations
act of marking off a boundary or setting a limit
|
thus fixed limit
|
strictly defined separation
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
|
Further reading
- “demarcation”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “demarcation”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.