What is "demit"

Demit \De*mit"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Demitted; p. pr. & vb. n. Demitting.] [L. demittere to send or bring down, to lower; de- + mittere to send. Cf. Demise.]

1. To let fall; to depress. [R.]

   They [peacocks] demit and let fall the same [i. e., their train].
   --Sir T. Browne.

2. To yield or submit; to humble; to lower; as, to demit one's self to humble duties. [R.]

3. To lay down, as an office; to resign. [Scot.]

   General Conway demitted his office.
   --Hume.

Demit \De*mit"\, v. i. [F. d['e]mettre to remove, se d['e]mettre to resign; d['e]- (L. dis-) + mettre to put, fr. L. mittere to send. Cf. Dismiss.] To lay down or relinquish an office, membership, authority, or the like; to resign, as from a Masonic lodge; -- generally used with an implication that the act is voluntary.

Demit \De*mit"\, n. The act of demitting; also, a letter, certificate, or the like, certifying that a person has (honorably) demitted, as from a Masonic lodge. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] ||

1610s (figurative), 1640s (literal), from Latin demittere "to send down," from de- (see de-) + mittere "to send" (see mission).

n. 1 The act of demitting. 2 A document certifying that a person has (honourably) demitted, as from a Masonic lodge. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To let fall; to depress; to yield. 2 To relinquish an office, membership, authority, etc.; to resign, as from a Masonic lodge.