Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Death.
  • noun The end of existence or activity; termination.
  • noun Law Transfer of an estate by lease or will.
  • noun The transfer of a ruler's authority by death or abdication.
  • intransitive verb Law To transfer (an estate) by will or lease.
  • intransitive verb To transfer (sovereignty) by abdication or will.
  • intransitive verb Law To be transferred by will or descent.
  • intransitive verb To die.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Transfer; transmission; devolution, as of a right or an estate in consequence of death, forfeiture of title, etc.
  • noun In law, a conveyance or transfer of an estate by will or lease in fee, for life or for a term of years; in modern use, a lease for years.
  • noun Hence Death, especially of a sovereign or other person transmitting important possessions or great fame: often used as a mere euphemism for death, without other implication.
  • To bequeath; grant by will.
  • In law, to transfer or convey, as an estate, for life or for years; lease.
  • To pass by bequest or inheritance; descend, as property.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • 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.
  • noun The decease of a royal or princely person; hence, also, the death of any illustrious person.
  • noun (Law) The conveyance or transfer of an estate, either in fee for life or for years, most commonly the latter.
  • noun a conveyance where there are mutual leases made from one to another of the same land, or something out of it.
  • transitive verb To transfer or transmit by succession or inheritance; to grant or bestow by will; to bequeath.
  • transitive verb rare To convey; to give.
  • transitive verb (Law) To convey, as an estate, by lease; to lease.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun law The conveyance or transfer of an estate, either in fee for life or for years, most commonly the latter.
  • 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.
  • noun Death.
  • noun end (less common, usually in a negative manner)
  • verb transitive, obsolete, law To give.
  • verb transitive, law To convey, as by will or lease.
  • verb transitive, law To transmit by inheritance.
  • verb intransitive, law To pass by inheritance.
  • verb intransitive To die.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the time when something ends
  • verb transfer by a lease or by a will

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, transfer of property, from Old French dimis, past participle of demettre, to release; see demit.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin demissa, feminine singular of perfect passive participle of dēmittō, apparently via Middle French démise, the feminine singular past participle of démettre.

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Examples

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  • "An expression of full support (from a colleague) is a sure sign of impending political demise."

    - Michael Brissenden, ABC 7:30 Report, 16 February 2009.

    February 16, 2009