dominion

[duh-min-yuh n]

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).

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

Related Words for dominions

control, domain, regimentation, jurisdiction, terrain, walk, supremacy, sphere, regiment, seniority, empire, management, realm, district, field, prerogative, commission, state, privilege, sovereignty

Examples from the Web for dominions

Contemporary Examples of dominions

The three Dominions together engaged some 40% of the German army.
Shock Army of the British Empire
David Frum
April 14, 2012
Yet when British troops left their African, Middle Eastern, and Asian dominions, they left behind many embryonic democracies, too.
What Iraq Costs Us
Peter Beinart
March 8, 2010

Historical Examples of dominions

This was her phrase for having entered on the dominions of England.
Harriet, The Moses of Her People
Sarah H. Bradford
In his own dominions the voice of execration has been raised against him.
The Historical Nights' Entertainment
Rafael Sabatini
He even offers to make a gift of his dominions to the Republic.
The Life of Cesare Borgia
Raphael Sabatini
She was a wise and discreet lady and assisted her husband to govern his dominions.
Japanese Fairy World
William Elliot Griffis
These you behold before you are the chief warriors of my dominions.
Ferdinand De Soto, The Discoverer of the Mississippi
John S. C. Abbott

British Dictionary definitions for dominions

dominions

pl n

(often capital) another term for dominations

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 dominions

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.