demandó

Demandó is the third-person singular form of the Spanish verb demandar in the pretérito indefinido (simple past). Demandar has two main senses: to demand or request something, and to sue or bring a legal action against someone. Accordingly, demandó can mean “he demanded,” “she demanded,” or “you (usted) demanded” in non-legal contexts, or “he sued,” “she sued,” or “you (usted) sued” when referring to legal action.

Usage in legal and everyday language differs by context. In legal writing, demandó generally introduces a lawsuit against a person or organization (for example, demandó al demandado). In everyday language, it can be followed by a direct object to express a demand or claim (demandó una explicación, demandó el pago).

The root noun related to these meanings is demanda, which can mean a demand or a lawsuit, depending on context. Related verbal forms include demanda (noun), demandas (you demand; you (plural) demand), and demandamos (we demand), reflecting the same stem and two main senses.

Etymology traces demandar to Latin demandāre, through Old Spanish, yielding both the sense of requesting something and the legal sense of filing a claim. The form demandó carries the accent on the final syllable to indicate the preterite stress pattern. Overall, demandó is a versatile past-tense form used in both everyday and legal Spanish to convey either a demand or a lawsuit, depending on context.