Plural of demy; half-sheets of printing paper, or students of a lower academic rank in certain colleges.
From demi- (half), referring to half-sized paper sheets or the French origin. A technical term in printing and historical education terminology.
At Oxford University, 'demies' were scholarship students with half the privileges of full scholars—the word shows how language encoded entire social hierarchies. In printing, the demy size was literally half a sheet, making it an economical choice.
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