demesne
Americannoun
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possession of land as one's own.
land held in demesne.
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an estate or part of an estate occupied and controlled by, and worked for the exclusive use of, the owner.
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land belonging to and adjoining a manor house; estate.
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the dominion or territory of a sovereign or state; domain.
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a district; region.
noun
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land, esp surrounding a house or manor, retained by the owner for his own use
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property law the possession and use of one's own property or land
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the territory ruled by a state or a sovereign; realm; domain
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a region or district; domain
Other Word Forms
- demesnial adjective
Etymology
Origin of demesne
1250–1300; Middle English demeine < Anglo-French demesne, Old French demein; domain
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.
The show has also expanded outside the demesne walls.
From BBC
The names on the blue and white city signs rarely memorialize the Native Americans whose lands these were, nor the Spanish missionaries and ranchers who divvied them up into demesnes more enormous than dukedoms.
From Los Angeles Times
And as the years progress, she gives up dreams of royalty to focus on the demesne she can control: the convent and its lands.
From Los Angeles Times
This was especially the case in England, where the aristocracy was more dependent on the cultivation of the demesne.
From Salon
“My demesne,” he says with a grin, happy to be caught out.
From Literature
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.
