domain

Definition

A geographic area owned or controlled by a single person or organization.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dem- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *dṓmder. Proto-Italic *domanos Latin dominus Proto-Indo-European *-yós Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ium Latin dominiumder. Old French demainebor. Middle English demayne English domain From Middle English demayne, demain (“rule”), from Old French demeine, demaine, demeigne, domaine (“power”), (French domaine), from Latin dominium (“property, right of ownership”), from dominus (“master, proprietor, owner”). Doublet of demesne and dominium, and closely related to dominion and domino. See also dame, and compare demain, danger, dungeon.

Example Sentences

• "The king ruled his domain harshly."
• "Bears and other ferocious beasts resented man's intrusion into their domain; so, too, did the Blackfoot Indians and other tribes, whose savage hostility was a constant menace to the lives of the toiling engineers."
• "Farmers account for just 1.5% of the British population, but the size of their domain – 71% of the country’s surface area is classified as farmland – has given them power over the public imagination."

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