(day-MARSH) (n.) 1. A course of action or maneuver 2. A diplomatic protest 3. A statement or protest made by citizens to the public authorities

As with many words originally involving diplomacy, we borrowed this one whole from the French. It derives from Old French "demarche," meaning "gait," and is a relative of the English verb "march."

To be excruciatingly correct, you'll want to add an accent mark (the kind that looks like a forward slash) to that first "e." Here's how the Wall Street Journal used the word in an editorial a couple of years ago about Bill Clinton's visit to China:

"Much has been made in the TV coverage of Mr. Clinton's pointed criticism of the Tiananmen massacre of 1989. And we were happy to hear it. The President also did well to bring up the mistreatment of Tibet--a demarche that must have hit home given Mr. Jiang's defensiveness."