demise
/dɪˈmaɪz/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.66 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The conveyance or transfer of an estate, either in fee for life or for years, most commonly the latter.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
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
noun
The atmospheric disintegration of a satellite or satellite component upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "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."
- "The lack of funding ultimately led to the project's demise."
- "More than a quarter of a century after the fraught events that followed the privatisation of the railway, Corbett has provided a warts and all analysis of what led to the spate of rail disasters in the aftermath of the break-up of British Rail, and (ultimately) to the demise of the company."
- "“Who is going to move against him [V. Putin]? Everyone is simply waiting for his demise,” [Oleg] Tinkov added."
- "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."
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: demyse, démise, dēmissa, dimisen