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.
“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.
