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Demise
Definitions
- 1 The conveyance or transfer of an estate, either in fee for life or for years, most commonly the latter. countable, uncountable
- 2 the time when something ends wordnet
- 3 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. countable, uncountable
"Immediately upon the Royal Assent being signified to this Act the Instrument of Abdication […] 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."
- 4 Death; decease. countable
"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."
- 5 The end of something, in a negative sense; downfall. countable
"The lack of funding ultimately led to the project's demise."
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- 6 The atmospheric disintegration of a satellite or satellite component upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere. countable, uncountable
"Relocating components to places where they receive more heating effect earlier in the reentry and even triggering a partial break-up of the satellite structure during reentry to aid demise."
- 1 To give. obsolete, transitive
- 2 transfer by a lease or by a will wordnet
- 3 To convey, as by will or lease. transitive
- 4 To transmit by inheritance. transitive
- 5 To pass by inheritance. intransitive
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- 6 To die. intransitive
Etymology
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 "death" and "end" senses 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.
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 "death" and "end" senses 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.
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