English
dominion
Dominion comes from Latin dominium ‘lordship, right of ownership’, and goes back to dominus ‘lord’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominus‘lord’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominium‘lordship, right of ownership’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600dominion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1611same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominus‘lord’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominium‘lordship, right of ownership’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600dominion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1611same form
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And at the end of the dayes, I Nebuchad-nezzar…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build’
timber, despotic, toft, teem, 23 more
through Proto-Indo-European *dṓm ‘house, home’
through Proto-Italic *domos ‘house, home’
through Latin domus ‘house’
domestic, dome, domicile, domus, 9 more
through Latin dominus ‘lord’
do, dan, don, dame, donna, dungeon, damsel, domaine, 13 more
through Latin dominium ‘lordship, right of ownership’
Today it means
noun Power or the use of power; sovereignty over something; stewardship, supremacy.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin dominus / dominion