dominion

[duh-min-yuh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dominion ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the power or right of governing and controlling; sovereign authority.

rule; control; domination.

a territory, usually of considerable size, in which a single rulership holds sway.

lands or domains subject to sovereignty or control.

Government. a territory constituting a self-governing commonwealth and being one of a number of such territories united in a community of nations, or empire: formerly applied to self-governing divisions of the British Empire, as Canada and New Zealand.

dominions, Theology. domination(def 3).

Nearby words

Origin of dominion

1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French < Medieval Latin *dominiōn- (stem of *dominiō) lordship, equivalent to Latin domin(ium) dominium + -iōn- -ion

Related formsin·ter·do·min·ion, adjectiveself-do·min·ion, noun

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

Examples from the Web for dominion

As for money, “we calmly accept its dominion over ourselves and our societies.”
Pope Francis Declares Consumers and Capitalists Need to Help the Poor|Daniel Gross|November 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The plants operated by Dominion will primarily use leftovers from nearby timbering work for the biomass fuel.
Dominion Completes Conversion of Coal Plant to Biomass in Virginia|William O’Connor|July 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Recently Republican-dominated, today the Dominion State has two centrist Democrat senators, and Obama has won the state twice.
Memo to the GOP: It’s Time to Listen to Your Elders|John Avlon|May 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
After that, Williams says, the CIA ordered her to Dominion Hospital.
Lynnae Williams: The CIA Spy Who Tweets|Eli Lake|March 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Having spent a lot of time in conservative churches, one of the first questions I get is about dominion.
Santorum Obliquely Suggests Obama Worships Earth, Not God|Kirsten Powers|February 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The Dominion of Canada has in it more fresh-water lakes than any other country in the world.
Three Boys in the Wild North Land|Egerton Ryerson Young
And king Ptolemee got the dominion of the cities by the sea side, even to Seleucia, and he devised evil designs against Alexander.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
But the Greeks were of all races least like to weld earth into one dominion.
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Vol. 2|Various
The mildness by which absolute masters exercise their dominion leaves them masters still.
The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. IV. (of 12)|Edmund Burke
Is it not a part of the "all things" over which man was made to have dominion?
Among the Forces|Henry White Warren

British Dictionary definitions for dominion

dominion

noun

rule; authority

the land governed by one ruler or government

sphere of influence; area of control

a name formerly applied to self-governing divisions of the British Empire

theDominion New Zealand

law a less common word for dominium

Word Origin for dominion

C15: from Old French, from Latin dominium ownership, from dominus master

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 dominion

dominion

early 15c., from Old French dominion "dominion, rule, power," from Medieval Latin dominionem (nominative dominio), corresponding to Latin dominium "property, ownership," from dominus (see domination).

British sovereign colonies often were called dominions, hence the Dominion of Canada, the formal title after the 1867 union, and Old Dominion, the popular name for the U.S. state of Virginia, first recorded 1778.