entry
demise
/dɪˈmaɪz/the end of life or transfer of property
From Latin, via Old French des- (away) + Latin, via Old French metre (to put).
from Latin mittere "let go, send" (see mission). Originally especially "a conveyance of an estate by will or lease,"...
Word Ancestry
from Latin mittere "let go, send" (see mission). Originally especially "a conveyance of an estate by will or lease,"...
For centuries, demise was not primarily about dying: it was paperwork. In medieval legal language, an estate could be “put away” from one owner and granted to another, through Old French desmetre—des-, “away,” plus metre, “put.” That metre traces to Latin mittere, “send,” the same family behind mission, transmit, and submit. By the 1540s, the word could describe a transfer of sovereignty; by 1754, it had softened into a polished way to say that someone had died. A demise began as a change of hands—and death became its most final change of ownership.
The Story
For centuries, demise was not primarily about dying: it was paperwork. In medieval legal language, an estate could be “put away” from one owner and granted to another, through Old French desmetre—des-, “away,” plus metre, “put.” That metre traces to Latin mittere, “send,” the same family behind mission, transmit, and submit. By the 1540s, the word could describe a transfer of sovereignty; by 1754, it had softened into a polished way to say that someone had died. A demise began as a change of hands—and death became its most final change of ownership.
Kin & Kindred
From 'des-'·away, apart; here, a sense of putting away or relinquishing
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'metre'·to put; from Latin mittere, “to let go, send”
Derived Terms
English words from this root