domain

[doh-meyn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR domain ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a field of action, thought, influence, etc.: the domain of science.

the territory governed by a single ruler or government; realm.

a realm or range of personal knowledge, responsibility, etc.

a region characterized by a specific feature, type of growth or wildlife, etc.: We entered the domain of the pine trees.

Law. land to which there is superior title and absolute ownership.

Mathematics.

the set of values assigned to the independent variables of a function.
region(def 11a).

Computers.

a group of computers and devices on a network that are administered under the same protocol.
the top level in a domain name, indicating the type of organization, geographical location, or both, and officially designated in the suffix, as .edu for institutions of higher education.

Physics. one of many regions of magnetic polarity within a ferromagnetic body, each consisting of a number of atoms having a common polarity, and collectively determining the magnetic properties of the body by their arrangement.

Crystallography. a connected region with uniform polarization in a twinned ferroelectric crystal.

Origin of domain

1595–1605; < French domaine, alteration, by association with Latin dominium dominium, of Old French demeine < Late Latin dominicum, noun use of neuter of Latin dominicus of a master, equivalent to domin(us) lord + -icus -ic

Related formsdo·ma·ni·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for domain

sphere, territory, realm, estate, jurisdiction, terrain, authority, walk, empire, occupation, discipline, district, field, department, scope, concern, province, slot, bailiwick, power

Examples from the Web for domain

Contemporary Examples of domain

As it turns out, my cell phone number had been searchable through a GoDaddy domain listing I obtained several years ago.
A Female Writer’s New Milestone: Her First Death Threat
Annie Gaus
December 1, 2014
But for the National Draft Ben Carson for President PAC to get going, they needed a Web domain.
Ben Carson’s Bizarrely Serious, Seriously Bizarre Campaign Crew
Olivia Nuzzi
November 12, 2014
The executive suite has been the domain of the talls: Barack Obama is six-one.
For Short Men in 2014, The News Is Surprisingly Good
Kevin Bleyer
September 13, 2014
And in August, the same eBay account put the domain Newsball.com up for auction, for $21,000,000.
He Bullies Kids and Calls It News
Brandy Zadrozny
June 26, 2014
An alert soul got hold for the domain allianceforastrongamerica.com and produced a more informative parody.
The Cheneys’ Permanent War
Heather Hurlburt
June 18, 2014

Historical Examples of domain

His eyes glowed steadily as he contemplated this interloper in his domain.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
They gave him the dukedom and domain of Bronte, worth about L3000 a year.
The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson
Robert Southey
That part of eternity dividing the domain of disappointment from the realm of hope.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
But this ordeal combat was far removed from the domain of sport.
English Villages
P. H. Ditchfield
There is thus no domain of the mind which is not influenced by love, and which does not react on love in its turn.
The Sexual Question
August Forel

British Dictionary definitions for domain

domain

noun

land governed by a ruler or government

land owned by one person or family

a field or scope of knowledge or activity

a region having specific characteristics or containing certain types of plants or animals

Australian and NZ a park or recreation reserve maintained by a public authority, often the government

law the absolute ownership and right to dispose of landSee also demesne, eminent domain

maths

the set of values of the independent variable of a function for which the functional value existsthe domain of sin x is all real numbers Compare range (def. 8a)
any open set containing at least one point

logic another term for universe of discourse domain of quantification

philosophy range of significance (esp in the phrase domain of definition)

Also called: magnetic domain physics one of the regions in a ferromagnetic solid in which all the atoms have their magnetic moments aligned in the same direction

computing a group of computers, functioning and administered as a unit, that are identified by sharing the same domain name on the internet

Also called: superkingdom biology the highest level of classification of living organisms. Three domains are recognized: Archaea (see archaean), Bacteria (see bacteria), and Eukarya (see eukaryote)

biochem a structurally compact portion of a protein molecule

Word Origin for domain

C17: from French domaine, from Latin dominium property, from dominus lord

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

Word Origin and History for domain

early 15c., in Scottish, from Middle French domaine "domain, estate," from Old French demaine "lord's estate," from Latin dominium "property, dominion," from dominus "lord, master, owner," from domus "house" (see domestic). Form influenced in Old French by Medieval Latin domanium "domain, estate." Internet domain name attested by 1985.

domain in Medicine

domain

[dō-mān′]

n.

One of the homologous regions that make up an immunoglobulin's heavy and light chains and serve specific immunological functions.

domain in Science

domain

[dō-mān′]

Mathematics The set of all values that an independent variable of a function can have. In the function y = 2x, the set of values that x (the independent variable) can have is the domain. Compare range.

Computer Science A group of networked computers that share a common communications address.

Biology A division of organisms that ranks above a kingdom in systems of classification that are based on shared similarities in DNA sequences rather than shared structural similarities. In these systems, there are three domains: the archaea, the bacteria, and the eukaryotes.

Physics A region in a ferromagnetic substance in which the substance is magnetized with the same polarization throughout.