demise

[dih-mahyz]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR demise ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

death or decease.

termination of existence or operation: the demise of the empire.

Law.

a death or decease occasioning the transfer of an estate.
a conveyance or transfer of an estate.

Government. transfer of sovereignty, as by the death or deposition of the sovereign.

verb (used with object), de·mised, de·mis·ing.

Law. to transfer (an estate or the like) for a limited time; lease.

Government. to transfer (sovereignty), as by the death or abdication of the sovereign.

verb (used without object), de·mised, de·mis·ing.

Law. to pass by bequest, inheritance, or succession.

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. 2019

Related Words for demised

end, die, drop, stop, expire, go, close, succumb, perish, disintegrate, crumble, wither, cease, disappear, vanish, rot, quit, wilt, buckle, yield

Examples from the Web for demised

Historical Examples of demised

"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!
Famous Modern Ghost Stories
Various
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.
Memoirs of Orange Jacobs
Orange Jacobs

British Dictionary definitions for demised

demise

noun

failure or terminationthe demise of one's hopes

a euphemistic or formal word for death

property law

a transfer of an estate by lease
the passing or transfer of an estate on the death of the owner

the immediate transfer of sovereignty to a successor upon the death, abdication, etc, of a ruler (esp in the phrase demise of the crown)

verb

to transfer or be transferred by inheritance, will, or succession

(tr) property law to transfer (an estate, etc) for a limited period; lease

(tr) to transfer (sovereignty, a title, etc) by or as if by the death, deposition, etc, of a ruler

Derived Formsdemisable, adjective

Word Origin for demise

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

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.