dom

¹

[ dom; Portuguese dawn ]

noun

1. Sometimes Dom. a title of a monk in the Benedictine, Carthusian, Cistercian, and certain other monastic orders.
2. Usually Dom. a Portuguese title affixed to a man's given name; Sir: formerly a title of certain dignitaries.

dom

²

[ dom ]

noun

1. a dominant in a BDSM sexual encounter or relationship.

verb (used with object)

, dommed, dom·ming.

1. to act as the dominant partner in a BDSM sexual encounter or relationship.

verb (used without object)

, dommed, dom·ming.

1. to act as the dominant partner to (someone) in a BDSM sexual encounter or relationship.

Dom

³

[ dom ]

noun

1. a male given name, form of Dominic.

DOM

⁴

abbreviation for

, Pharmacology.

1. a potent, long-acting hallucinogen, C 12 H 19 NO 2 , usually taken orally in the form of a tablet: DOM is strictly controlled in several countries, including the United States, where it is illegal to manufacture, distribute, buy, or possess this psychedelic drug.

-dom

⁵

1. a suffix forming nouns which refer to domain ( kingdom ), collection of persons ( officialdom ), rank or station ( earldom ), or general condition ( freedom ).

dom.

⁶

abbreviation for

1. domain.
2. domestic.
3. dominant.
4. dominion.

Dom.

⁷

abbreviation for

1. Dominica.
2. Dominican.

d.o.m.

⁸

abbreviation for

, Slang.

1. dirty old man.

D.O.M.

⁹

abbreviation for

1. to God, the Best, the Greatest.

-dom

¹

suffix forming nouns

1. state or condition

   freedom

   martyrdom

2. rank or office

   earldom

3. domain

   kingdom

   Christendom

4. a collection of persons

   officialdom

dom

²

/ dɒm /

noun

1. sometimes capital RC Church a title given to Benedictine, Carthusian, and Cistercian monks and to certain of the canons regular
2. (formerly in Portugal and Brazil) a title borne by royalty, princes of the Church, and nobles

Dom.

³

abbreviation for

1. Dominican

DOM

⁴

abbreviation for

1. Deo Optimo Maximo
2. informal.
   Dirty Old Man

abbreviation for

1. Dominican Republic (international car registration)

Word History and Origins

Origin of dom¹

First recorded from 1710–20; shortened from Latin dominus “lord, master”

Origin of dom²

First recorded in 1985–90; shortened from dominant ( def )

Origin of dom³

First recorded in 1965–70; from chemical name 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine; first synthesized in 1963 by U.S. psychopharmacologist Alexander Shulgin (1925–2014)

Origin of dom⁴

Middle English; Old English -dōm; cognate with Old Norse -dōmr, German -tum; doom

Origin of dom⁵

From Latin Deō Optimō Maximō

Word History and Origins

Origin of dom¹

Old English -dōm

Origin of dom²

C18 (monastic title): from Latin dominus lord

Origin of dom³

(for sense 1) Latin: to God, the best, the Greatest

Example Sentences

I bought Tarzan comic books, and even had a few issues of ERB-dom, a mimeographed fanzine devoted to the works of Burroughs.

From The Daily Beast

Dom knows this because it is a moment he has visited over and over again.

From The Daily Beast

Dom Raso, former Navy SEAL: If Adam Lanza had NRA gun safety training, might not have killed.

From The Daily Beast

This road trip movie is star-studded with Farrah Fawcett, Jackie Chan, Burt Reynolds, and Dom DeLuise.

From The Daily Beast

In the meantime, as Dom struggles to make ends meet without a job, his fellow Walmart workers still struggle as well.

From The Daily Beast

As the two ladies approached the big bronze statue of Dom Calmet, the historian, they passed a small café.

From Project Gutenberg

He vos caught Dom py der throat und knock his head py der vall chust so hard like nefer vos!

From Project Gutenberg

Dom Cuthbert led them to the guest-chamber, from which opened three diminutive bedrooms.

From Project Gutenberg

"This is where you'll sit," said Dom Cuthbert, pointing to two kneeling-chairs on either side of the opening into the quire.

From Project Gutenberg

Michael was not sure whether he liked Dom Gilbert—he was such a very practical monk.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use -dom

What does -dom mean?

The suffix -dom denotes nouns for domains, collections of persons, rank or station, or general condition. It is often used in a variety of everyday and technical terms.

The suffix -dom comes from Old English -dōm, meaning “statute, judgment, or jurisdiction.” Another descendant in modern English from this stem is doom, which today means “unavoidable ill fortune; ruin, death” but originally referred to a judgment or legal decision, especially an unfavorable one.

Examples of -dom

An example of a word you may have encountered that features -dom is fandom, “fans collectively, as of a motion-picture star or a professional game or sport.”

Fan in this word means “an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, celebrity, etc.” The suffix -dom denotes a collection of people. Fandom literally translates to “a collection of fans.”

What are some words that use the combining form -dom?

• dogdom
• fiefdom
• freedom (using the equivalent form of -dom in Old English)
• hippiedom
• kingdom (using the equivalent form of -dom in Old English)
• martyrdom (using the equivalent form of -dom in Old English)

What are some other forms that -dom may be commonly confused with?

• -derm
• -drome

Not every word that ends with the exact letters -dom, such as poppadom or random, is necessarily using the suffix -dom to denote “domain.” Learn about the crispy Indian bread poppadom at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

Given the meaning of the suffix -dom, what does kingdom literally mean?