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demise

[dih-mahyz]
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noun
  1. death or decease.
  2. termination of existence or operation: the demise of the empire.
  3. Law.
    1. a death or decease occasioning the transfer of an estate.
    2. a conveyance or transfer of an estate.
  4. Government. transfer of sovereignty, as by the death or deposition of the sovereign.
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verb (used with object), de·mised, de·mis·ing.
  1. Law. to transfer (an estate or the like) for a limited time; lease.
  2. Government. to transfer (sovereignty), as by the death or abdication of the sovereign.
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verb (used without object), de·mised, de·mis·ing.
  1. Law. to pass by bequest, inheritance, or succession.
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Origin of demise

1400–50; late Middle English dimis(s)e, demise < Old French demis (past participle of desmetre) < Latin dīmissum (past participle of dīmittere); see demit1, dismiss
Related formsde·mis·a·bil·i·ty, nounde·mis·a·ble, adjectivenon·de·mise, nounun·de·mised, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for demised

Historical Examples

  • "No, he didn't; he demised," says Kelly, emerging from obscurity into the light of conversation once more.

    Rossmoyne

    Unknown

  • It's going to be a great shock to some of them one of these days to wake up and find out they're demised!

  • It was demised to her doubtless before her marriage, but it was not altered in relation to her after her marriage.

    Shakespeare's Family

    Mrs. C. C. Stopes

  • John B. Waldo, recently demised, was also a pupil of mine for about two years.

British Dictionary definitions for demised

demise

noun
  1. failure or terminationthe demise of one's hopes
  2. a euphemistic or formal word for death
  3. property law
    1. a transfer of an estate by lease
    2. the passing or transfer of an estate on the death of the owner
  4. the immediate transfer of sovereignty to a successor upon the death, abdication, etc, of a ruler (esp in the phrase demise of the crown)
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verb
  1. to transfer or be transferred by inheritance, will, or succession
  2. (tr) property law to transfer (an estate, etc) for a limited period; lease
  3. (tr) to transfer (sovereignty, a title, etc) by or as if by the death, deposition, etc, of a ruler
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Derived Formsdemisable, adjective

Word Origin

C16: from Old French, feminine of demis dismissed, from demettre to send away, from Latin dīmittere; see dismiss
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for demised

demise

n.

mid-15c., from Middle French demise, fem. past participle of démettre "dismiss, put away," from des- "away" (from Latin dis-) + Middle French mettre "put," from Latin mittere "let go, send" (see mission). Originally "transfer of estate by will," meaning extended 1754 to "death" because that's when this happens.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper