Other forms: demos
A demo is a rough recording made to show what a song could become. Record a demo, a demo tape, send out demos.
It is short for demonstration. Demos are made cheaply and quickly, and the whole point is that they are unfinished — bands send them to labels and to venues. Some demos are eventually released and are often better than the polished version, which is a standing argument among fans. Demo also means a working sample of software, and in British English a demo is a political demonstration: go on a demo.
1noundemoA rough recording made to show what a song could be.
“The band recorded a demo in their garage and sent it to record companies.”
2nounpoliticalA political demonstration.
“Thousands of students went on a demo against higher tuition fees.”
demo is a sample or demonstration.
The word is clipped from demonstration, from Latin demonstrare, to point out. English clips long Latin words constantly — demo, exam, lab, memo — and the short forms almost always outlive the formality.
Proto-Indo-European
*men- (think)
English, today
demo
a clipping of demonstration and various other words beginning with "demo-".
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA