I. də̇ˈmīz, dēˈ- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English demisen, from Middle French demis, past participle
transitive verb
1. : to convey (as an estate) by will or by lease
premises demised for a period of 10 years
2. obsolete : release : let go
3. obsolete : convey , give
4. : to transmit (as a title or the sovereignty) by succession or inheritance
declare the crown voluntarily demised
intransitive verb
1. : to demise the sovereignty
2. : die , decease
3. : to pass by descent or bequest
the property demised to the king
II. “ sometimes də̇ˈmēz noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French, feminine of demis, past participle of demettre to put away, dismiss, from Latin demittere to send down, lower, from de- from, down, away + mittere to send — more at de- , smite
1. : the conveyance of an estate (as by lease for a number of years)
2. : transference of the sovereignty to a successor (as by death or abdication) — used usually in the phrase demise of the crown
the appointment of a regent at the unexpected demise of the crown
3.
a. : death
the lady's demise had been ascribed to apoplexy — Alan Hynd
b. : end of existence or being
when the Roman Empire perished, neither contemporaries nor posterity acknowledged its demise — A.J.Toynbee
: discontinuance or cessation of activity or operation
a paper … published daily until its recent unlamented journalistic demise — Victor Riesel