n.
Pronunciation: di- ' mer- ə t, d ē -, - ' me-r ə t
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French demerite, from Medieval Latin demeritum, from neuter of demeritus, past participle of demer ē re to be undeserving of, from Latin, to earn, from de- + mer ē re to merit
Date: 15th century
1 obsolete : OFFENSE
2 a : a quality that deserves blame or lacks merit : FAULT , DEFECT b : lack of merit
3 : a mark usually entailing a loss of privilege given to an offender