deemster

English

Alternative forms

• demster (obsolete)
• dempster

Etymology

From Middle English demester, demster, equivalent to deem (“to judge”) +‎ -ster.

Noun

deemster (plural deemsters)

1. (now dialectal, Isle of Man) A judge; one who pronounces sentence or doom.
   • 1767, The Gentleman's and London Magazine:

     If you hire a house for a year, and before the end of a month, happen to disagree with your landlord, he goes to the Deemster, and tells him, that he suspects you intend to leave the island, without paying his rent; […]

Related terms

• deem
• doomster

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch deemster, demster (“dark”), from Old Dutch *thimster (in the compound thimsternisse (“darkness”)), from Proto-West Germanic *þimstr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdeːm.stər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: deem‧ster

Noun

deemster m (uncountable)

1. (Belgium, dated in Netherlands) twilight

Synonyms

• deemstering
• halfdonker
• halfduister
• schemerdonker
• schemerlicht
• schemering
• tweedonker
• tweelicht
• wegdeemsteren

Derived terms

• deemsteren