entry
deem
/diːm/to judge, consider, or regard as
From Proto-Indo-European dhe (to set).
from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put" (compare doom ). Related: Deemed; deeming . Originally "pronounce judgment" as well...
from Proto-Germanic *domjanan (source also of Old Frisian dema "to judge," Old Saxon adomian , Middle Dutch doemen ,...
+1 more sourcefrom Old English deman "to judge, decide on consideration, condemn;, think, judge, hold as an opinion,"
+1 more sourcefrom Middle English dēmen (“to judge; to criticize, condemn; to impose a penalty on, sentence; to direct, order; to...
Word Ancestry
from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put" (compare doom ). Related: Deemed; deeming . Originally "pronounce judgment" as well...
from Proto-Germanic *domjanan (source also of Old Frisian dema "to judge," Old Saxon adomian , Middle Dutch doemen ,...
+1 more sourcefrom Old English deman "to judge, decide on consideration, condemn;, think, judge, hold as an opinion,"
+1 more sourcefrom Middle English dēmen (“to judge; to criticize, condemn; to impose a penalty on, sentence; to direct, order; to...
A tiny verb like this once sat in the middle of actual judgment halls, where deciding and thinking were close cousins. In Old English, dēman could mean to pass sentence, but also simply to hold an opinion — which is why the word still feels like a verdict wrapped around a guess. It belongs to the same old family as doom, so the emotional temperature is built in: when you deem something, you are, in a very ancient sense, placing it on the scales and setting it down as true. The ancestor behind all this is the broad Indo-European root *dhe-, the same old 'put, set' idea that helped grow words like thesis and theme. So when you deem a plan wise, you are doing a linguistic little act of placement: setting it in the category called 'approved' and hoping the universe doesn't appeal the decision.
The Story
A tiny verb like this once sat in the middle of actual judgment halls, where deciding and thinking were close cousins. In Old English, dēman could mean to pass sentence, but also simply to hold an opinion — which is why the word still feels like a verdict wrapped around a guess. It belongs to the same old family as doom, so the emotional temperature is built in: when you deem something, you are, in a very ancient sense, placing it on the scales and setting it down as true. The ancestor behind all this is the broad Indo-European root *dhe-, the same old 'put, set' idea that helped grow words like thesis and theme. So when you deem a plan wise, you are doing a linguistic little act of placement: setting it in the category called 'approved' and hoping the universe doesn't appeal the decision.
Kin & Kindred
From 'dhe'·to set, put, place
Derived Terms
English words from this root