Domesday Book

American  

[doomz-dey book, dohmz-] / ˈdumzˌdeɪ ˌbʊk, ˈdoʊmz- /

Also Doomsday Book

noun

1. a record of a survey of the lands of England made by order of William the Conqueror about 1086, giving ownership, extent, value, etc., of the properties.

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Domesday Book British  

noun

1. history the record of a survey of the land of England carried out by the commissioners of William I in 1086

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Example Sentences

It was recorded in the Domesday Book, the survey of lands in England compiled by William the Conqueror in 1086, as “Sant Dersingham,” or the sandy part of Dersingham.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 8, 2024

Doomsday Book—whose name is a nod to the Domesday Book, a 1086 survey commissioned by William the Conqueror—features two protagonists who try to stop the spread of deadly contagions 700 years apart.

From Slate • Dec. 8, 2020

The mill, mentioned in William the Conqueror’s Domesday Book of 1086, was selling about 40 tonnes of flour a month to home bakers, small cafes and micro-bakeries.

From Reuters • May 6, 2020

So was the Domesday Book compiled in 1086, 20 years after William the Conqueror sailed across the English Channel.

From New York Times • Feb. 10, 2016

The Domesday Book records more than six thousand mills driven by water-wheels in England in 1086.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton