demise
See also: démise
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English demyse, dimise, dimisse, dymyse, from Middle French démise, the feminine singular past participle of démettre (“to put down, relinquish”); from Latin dēmissa, feminine singular of perfect passive participle of dēmittō. The senses "death, end" derive by way of euphemism from the legal sense, as a person's death was a common way that the legal demise could be accomplished.
The verb is from Middle English dimisen, from the noun.[1]
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
demise (countable and uncountable, plural demises)
- (law) The conveyance or transfer of an estate, either in fee for life or for years, most commonly the latter.
- 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.
- 1936, “His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936”, in legislation.gov.uk[1], retrieved 9 December 2022:
- Immediately upon the Royal Assent being signified to this Act the Instrument of Abdication executed by His present Majesty on the tenth day of December, nineteen hundred and thirty-six, set out in the Schedule to this Act, shall have effect, and thereupon His Majesty shall cease to be King and there shall be a demise of the Crown, and accordingly the member of the Royal Family then next in succession to the Throne shall succeed thereto and to all the rights, privileges, and dignities thereunto belonging.
- (countable) Death.
- 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 124:
- Earth looked her loveliest to receive my sweet sister's gentle dust; but all was harsh and sullen as her own nature when Lady Avonleigh's haughty ashes returned to their original element. Immediately after her demise, her son went abroad, and I accompanied him.
- (countable) The end of something, in a negative sense; downfall.
- The lack of funding ultimately led to the project's demise.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
the conveyance or transfer of an estate, either in fee for life or for years
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transmission by formal act or conveyance to an heir or successor
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death — see also death
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end, downfall, or failure
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Verb edit
demise (third-person singular simple present demises, present participle demising, simple past and past participle demised)
- (transitive, obsolete, law) To give.
- (transitive, law) To convey, as by will or lease.
- (transitive, law) To transmit by inheritance.
- (intransitive, law) To pass by inheritance.
- (intransitive) To die.
References edit
- ^ “dī̆mīsen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Anagrams edit
Czech edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from French démission, from Latin dēmissiō, from dēmittō.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
demise f