demise: Meaning and Definition of

de•mise

Pronunciation: (di-mīz'), [key]
— n., v., -mised, -mis•ing.
—n.
  1. death or decease.
  2. termination of existence or operation: the demise of the empire.
    1. a death or decease occasioning the transfer of an estate.
    2. a conveyance or transfer of an estate.
  3. transfer of sovereignty, as by the death or deposition of the sovereign.
—v.t.
  1. to transfer (an estate or the like) for a limited time; lease.
  2. to transfer (sovereignty), as by the death or abdication of the sovereign.
—v.i.
  1. to pass by bequest, inheritance, or succession.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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