Definition of disseise
disseised
ordisseized
;disseising
ordisseizing
transitive verb
: to deprive especially wrongfully of seisin : dispossess
From the M-W Editors
disseise was our Word of the Day on 04/20/2011. Hear the podcast!
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Did You Know?
Disseise, "seisin" ("the possession of land or chattels"), and "seize" are all 13th-century words derived from the Anglo-French word seisir, meaning "to put in possession of." That’s the original meaning of English "seize" as well. ("Seize" can also be spelled "seise" in that sense.) The Magna Carta (the great charter of liberties, originally written in Medieval Latin and signed in 1215) is perhaps the most frequently quoted use of the word disseise: "No free man shall be … disseised … except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land."
Origin and Etymology of disseise
Middle English disseisen, from Anglo-French disseisir, dis- + seisir to put in possession of — more at seize
Law Dictionary
Origin and Etymology of disseise
Anglo-French disseisir to dispossess, from Old French dessaisir, from des-, prefix marking reversal + saisir to put in possession of
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