From Old French demander ('to request, demand'), from Latin dēmandāre ('to entrust, charge with a commission'), combining de- ('completely') and mandāre ('to order'). The original Latin sense was entrusting someone with a task; it shifted toward insistent asking in Medieval Latin and Anglo-French legal use. The 'ask with urgency' sense entered English in the early 15th century; the 'require as necessary' sense appeared by the mid-18th century.