Demise definition | Dictionary.com

Synonyms of Demise

decease, dissolution, extinction, passing, quietus, rest, depart, drop, expire, go, pass away, pass

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8 dictionary results for: Demise

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

de·mise

[di-mahyz] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, -mised, -mis·ing.

–noun

1.	death or decease.

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

Law.

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

b.	a conveyance or transfer of an estate.

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

–verb (used with object)

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

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

–verb (used without object)

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

[Origin: 1400–50; late ME dimis(s)e, demise < OF demis (ptp. of desmetre) < L dīmissum (ptp. of dīmittere); see demit¹, dismiss

]

—Related forms

de·mis·a·bil·i·ty, noun

de·mis·a·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

de·mise (dĭ-mīz') Pronunciation Key
n.

1. Death.
2. The end of existence or activity; termination: the demise of the streetcar.
Law Transfer of an estate by lease or will.
The transfer of a ruler's authority by death or abdication.

v. de·mised, de·mis·ing, de·mis·es

v. tr.

Law To transfer (an estate) by will or lease.
To transfer (sovereignty) by abdication or will.

v. intr.

Law To be transferred by will or descent: The land demised to a charitable institution.
To die.

[Middle English, transfer of property, from Old French dimis, past participle of demettre, to release; see demit.]

de·mis'a·ble adj.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
demise

1442, from M.Fr. demise, fem. pp. of demettre "dismiss, put away," from des- "away" (from L. dis-) + M.Fr. mettre "put," from L. mittere "let go, send." Originally "transfer of estate by will," meaning extended 1754 to "death" because that's when this happens.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

demise
noun
1.	the time when something ends; "it was the death of all his plans"; "a dying of old hopes" [syn: death] [ant: birth]
verb
1.	transfer by a lease or by a will

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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: de·mise
Pronunciation: di-'mIz
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: de·mised; de·mis·ing
: to convey (possession of property) by will or lease demised premises>

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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: demise
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French, from feminine past participle of demettre to convey by lease, from Old French, to put down, give up, renounce, from Latin demittere to let fall and dimittere to release
1 : the conveyance of property by will or lease : LEASE
2 : the transmission of property by testate or intestate succession
3 : charter of a boat in which the owner surrenders completely the possession, command, and navigation of the boat called also bareboat charter

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Demise

De*mise"\, n. [F. d['e]mettre, p. p. d['e]mis, d['e]mise, to put away, lay down; pref. d['e]- (L. de or dis-) + mettre to put, place, lay, fr. L. mittere to send. See Mission, and cf. Dismiss, Demit.]

1. Transmission by formal act or conveyance to an heir or successor; transference; especially, the transfer or transmission of the crown or royal authority to a successor.

2. The decease of a royal or princely person; hence, also, the death of any illustrious person.

After the demise of the Queen [of George II.], in 1737, they [drawing- rooms] were held but twice a week. --P. Cunningham.

3. (Law) The conveyance or transfer of an estate, either in fee for life or for years, most commonly the latter. --Bouvier.

Note: The demise of the crown is a transfer of the crown, royal authority, or kingdom, to a successor. Thus, when Edward IV. was driven from his throne for a few months by the house of Lancaster, this temporary transfer of his dignity was called a demise. Thus the natural death of a king or queen came to be denominated a demise, as by that event the crown is transferred to a successor. --Blackstone.

Demise and redemise, a conveyance where there are mutual leases made from one to another of the same land, or something out of it.

Syn: Death; decease; departure. See Death.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Demise

De*mise"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Demised; p. pr. & vb. n. Demising.]

1. To transfer or transmit by succession or inheritance; to grant or bestow by will; to bequeath. "Power to demise my lands." --Swift.

What honor Canst thou demise to any child of mine? --Shak.

2. To convey; to give. [R.]

His soul is at his conception demised to him. --Hammond.

3. (Law) To convey, as an estate, by lease; to lease.

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