demise
C1Meanings
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1
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.
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.
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2
noun
Death; decease.
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.
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3
noun
The end of something, in a negative sense; downfall.
The lack of funding ultimately led to the project's demise.
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4
noun
The atmospheric disintegration of a satellite or satellite component upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere.
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.
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5
noun
the time when something ends
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6
verb
transfer by a lease or by a will
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7
noun
The conveyance or transfer of an estate, either in fee for life or for years, most commonly the latter.
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8
verb
To give.
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.
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