Pleading
A demurrer is a pleading (usually filed by a defendant). It objects to the legal sufficiency of the opponent's pleading and demands that the court rule immediately about whether the pleading is legally adequate. This is before the party must plead on the merits in response.  Since demurrer procedure required an immediate ruling like a motion, many common law jurisdictions therefore went to a narrower understanding of pleadings. They are seen as framing the issues in a case but not being motions in and of themselves. The demurrer is replaced with the motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action or the application to strike out particulars of claim.