promote (v.)

"reduce to a lower rank or class," 1881, American English coinage from de- "down" + ending abstracted from promote. Said to have been in general use in the Midwest by 1893, but not in the East.

Regarding an antithesis to 'promote,' the word universally in use in Cambridge, in Harvard College, is drop. The same word is in use in the leading schools here (Boston). I hope I may be counted every time against such barbarisms as 'demote' and 'retromote.' [Edward Everett Hale, 1892, letter to the publishers of "Funk & Wagnalls' Standard Dictionary"]

Related: Demoted; demoting.

late 14c., "one who forwards or advances" (the interest of someone or some cause), "supporter," agent noun from promote, and also from Old French promotor, promoteur and directly from Medieval Latin promotor.

Specific financial sense of "one who leads in forming a company" is from 1876; sense of "one who organizes sporting or entertainment events" is attested from 1936. In late Middle English and early Modern English it also had a sense of "an informer," from promote in a 15c. sense of "inform against."