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demise

 - 5 dictionary results

de⋅mise

  [di-mahyz] noun, verb, -mised, -mis⋅ing.
Use demise in a Sentence
–noun
1. death or decease.
2. termination of existence or operation: the demise of the empire.
3. 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 demit 1 , dismiss

Related forms:
de⋅mis⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun
de⋅mis⋅a⋅ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To demise
de·mise   (dĭ-mīz')   
n.  

    1. Death.

    2. The end of existence or activity; termination: the demise of the streetcar.

  2. Law Transfer of an estate by lease or will.

  3. The transfer of a ruler's authority by death or abdication.

v.   de·mised, de·mis·ing, de·mis·es

v.   tr.

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

  2. To transfer (sovereignty) by abdication or will.

v.   intr.

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

  2. To die.


[Middle English, transfer of property, from Old French dimis, past participle of demettre, to release; see demit.]
de·mis'a·ble adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

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>

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
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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