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demesne

American  
[dih-meyn, -meen] / dɪˈmeɪn, -ˈmin /

noun

  1. possession of land as one's own.

    land held in demesne.

  2. an estate or part of an estate occupied and controlled by, and worked for the exclusive use of, the owner.

  3. land belonging to and adjoining a manor house; estate.

  4. the dominion or territory of a sovereign or state; domain.

  5. a district; region.

demesne British  
/ -ˈmiːn, dɪˈmeɪn /

noun

  1. land, esp surrounding a house or manor, retained by the owner for his own use

  2. property law the possession and use of one's own property or land

  3. the territory ruled by a state or a sovereign; realm; domain

  4. a region or district; domain

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • demesnial adjective

Etymology

Origin of demesne

1250–1300; Middle English demeine < Anglo-French demesne, Old French demein; domain

Explanation

In medieval Europe, a demesne was the part of a lord's land that he kept for his own use. These days, it's more often used to mean "property" or "territory." The term demesne was originally used to distinguish land totally controlled by a lord from areas that were turned over to tenants. Demesne lands were often farmed and tended by serfs, with the profits or crops going to the lord and his family. Demesne comes from the Latin dominicus, "belonging to a master," and its root domus, "house," which it shares with domicile.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing demesne

"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 2

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“In our house things were either broken or not used at all,” the 14-year-old says of her chaotic home, a once-grand demesne neglected by Caithleen’s volatile father.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

A couple of centuries or so later, the peninsula became part of a Spanish land grant, and the demesne of Manuel Dominguez as his Rancho San Pedro.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2024

The show has also expanded outside the demesne walls.

From BBC • Aug. 11, 2023

This was especially the case in England, where the aristocracy was more dependent on the cultivation of the demesne.

From Salon • Apr. 26, 2020

The peasant moves the boundary stone And steals the lord’s demesne.

From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.