After failing to meet sales targets for three consecutive months, she received a demotion to regular sales staff.

demotion 是名词，由动词 demote（降职）加上名词后缀 -ion 构成。前缀 de- 表示"向下、减少"，词根 mot 来自拉丁语 movere（移动），所以 demotion 字面意思是"向下移动"，引申为"降职"。