de·mise / diˈmīz/ • n. [in sing.] 1. a person's death: Mr. Grisenthwaite's tragic demise. ∎  the end or failure of an enterprise or institution.2. Law conveyance or transfer of property or a title by demising.• v. [tr.] Law convey or grant (an estate) by will or lease. ∎  transmit (a sovereign's title) by death or abdication.

demise transfer of an estate XVI; transfer of sovereignty XVII; death (as occasioning this) XVIII. — AN. *demise, sb. use of fem. pp. of OF. de(s)mettre (mod. démettre) DISMISS, (refl.) resign, abdicate.

DEMISE

Death. A conveyance of property, usually of an interest in land. Originally meant a posthumous grant but has come to be applied commonly to a conveyance that is made for a definitive term, such as an estate for a term of years. A lease is a common example, and demise is sometimes used synonymously with "lease" or "let."