demised

Demised is a term with two principal senses in English usage. In property and law, it is the past participle of demise and functions as an adjective or verb meaning to grant by lease or to transfer property for use under a lease. In this sense, to demise a property is to convey its possession and use rights to a lessee, and the property that is conveyed is often described as the demised premises or the demised estate. Legal documents, leases, and tenancy agreements frequently employ phrases such as “the demised premises,” “the demised term,” or “the demised property.”

The word also has a distinct, older sense related to death. Demise can mean the death or passing of a person, and demised, in this sense, functions as the past participle meaning deceased. In modern writing, this death sense is less common and is often replaced by terms like deceased or the late, especially in ordinary prose. In some formal or historical contexts, however, demise as death remains encountered, including in obituaries, legal formulations, and archival texts.

Usage and nuances: In real estate and property law, demised is a precise technical term describing leased rights and the land or buildings subject to a lease. In everyday language, saying someone “demised” a property is typically replaced by “granted a lease” or “leased the property.” The term can appear archaic or overly formal outside of legal documents, so writers often choose more common synonyms to avoid ambiguity.