deme
Americannoun
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one of the administrative divisions of ancient Attica and of modern Greece.
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Biology. a local population of organisms of the same kind, especially one in which the genetic mix is similar throughout the group.
noun
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(in preclassical Greece) the territory inhabited by a tribe
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(in ancient Attica) a geographical unit of local government
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biology a group of individuals within a species that possess particular characteristics of cytology, genetics, etc
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A small, locally interbreeding group of organisms within a larger population. Demes are isolated reproductively from other members of their species, although the isolation may only be partial and is not necessarily permanent. Because they share a somewhat restricted gene pool, members of a deme generally differ morphologically to some degree from members of other demes.
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See also population
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of deme
First recorded in 1620–30, deme is from the Greek word dêmos a district, the people, commons
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When Feldstein left aca deme for Washington in the summer of 1982, he entered a foreign world.
From Time Magazine Archive
Strepsiades, the son of Phido, of the deme of Cicynna.
From The Eleven Comedies, Volume 1 by Aristophanes
His father, who bore the same name, was an Athenian citizen belonging to the deme of Paeania.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 2 "Demijohn" to "Destructor" by Various
Sed si non possis a prima demere primam Precedens vnum de limite deme sequente, Quod demptum pro denario reputabis ab illo Subtrahe totalem numerum quem proposuisti Quo facto scribe super quicquid remanebit.
From The Earliest Arithmetics in English by Steele, Robert
In point of fact membership was hereditary, not residential; Demosthenes “of the Paeanian deme” might live where he would without severing his deme connexion.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 4 "Cincinnatus" to "Cleruchy" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
