dominion

See also: Dominion

English

Etymology

From Middle English dominion, from Middle French dominion, from Latin dominium (“lordship, right of ownership”), from dominus (“lord”), from domus (“house”). See demain, demesne, domain, dominium.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dəˈmɪnjən/, /doʊˈmɪnjən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪnjən
• Hyphenation: do‧min‧ion

Noun

dominion (countable and uncountable, plural dominions)

1. Power or the use of power; sovereignty over something; stewardship, supremacy.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Daniel 4:34, column 1:

     And at the end of the dayes, I Nebuchad-nezzar lift vp mine eyes vnto heauen, and mine vnderſtanding returned vnto me, and I bleſſed the moſt high, and I praiſed, and honoured him that liueth for euer, whoſe dominion is an euerlaſting dominion, and his kingdome is from generation to generation.

   • 1881, Benjamin Jowett, Thucydides Translated into English:

     To choose between dominion or slavery.

   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

     'Behold! once more I kiss thee, and by that kiss I give to thee dominion over sea and earth, over the peasant in his hovel, over the monarch in his palace halls, and cities crowned with towers, and those who breathe therein.'

2. predominance; ascendancy
   • 1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, translated by John Dryden, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], →OCLC:

     Objects placed foremost ought […] have dominion over things which are confus'd and transient.

3. (sometimes figurative) A kingdom, nation, or other sphere of influence; governed territory.

   the dominions of a king  the dominion of the passions

   • 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Four. The Last of the Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 137:

     Oh cold, cold, rigid, dreadful Death, set up thine altar here, and dress it with such terrors as thou hast at thy command: for this is thy dominion!

4. (taxonomy) kingdom
5. (Christianity) An order of angel in Christian angelology, ranked above virtues and below thrones.

   Synonym: domination

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Colossians 1:16, column 2:

     For by him were all things created […], whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.

Derived terms

• dominion theology

Related terms

• dominate
• domination
• dominator
• domineering
• domino
• subdominion

Descendants

• → Norwegian Bokmål: dominion
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: dominion

Translations

power or the use of power; sovereignty over something

• Bulgarian: суверенна власт (suverenna vlast)
• Danish: herredømme n, magt c
• Dutch: heerschappij (nl)
• Egyptian: (wꜣs m)
• Finnish: valta (fi), herruus (fi)
• French: domination (fr) m
• Galician: dominio (gl) m
• German: Herrschaft (de) f, Oberherrschaft (de) f, Vorherrschaft (de) f
• Gothic: 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌾𐌹𐌽𐌰𐍃𐍃𐌿𐍃 m (fraujinassus)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀρχή (arkhḗ)

• Hausa: mulki (ha)
• Hindi: डोमीनियन (hi) f (ḍomīniyan)
• Hungarian: uralom (hu) sg
• Irish: tiarnas m
• Latin: dominium (la) n
• Macedonian: надмоќ f (nadmoḱ), превласт f (prevlast)
• Middle English: seignurie
• Plautdietsch: Äwahaunt f
• Polish: dominacja (pl) f
• Romanian: dominație (ro) f
• Russian: власть (ru) f (vlastʹ)
• Sanskrit: क्षत्र (sa) n (kṣatra)
• Spanish: dominio (es) m

predominance, ascendancy

• Finnish: hallinta (fi)

kingdom, nation, or other sphere of influence

• Bulgarian: доминион (bg) m (dominion)
• Catalan: domini (ca) m
• Danish: dominion c
• Finnish: valtapiiri (fi)
• German: Herrschaftsgebiet (de) n, Machtgebiet n, Einflussbereich (de) m, Dominion (de) n
• Hindi: डोमीनियन (hi) f (ḍomīniyan)
• Indonesian: domini
• Irish: tiarnas m
• Khmer: វិជិតរដ្ឋ (vi jit roth), វិជិតរាជ្យ (vi jit reach)
• Macedonian: доминио́н m (dominión), кралство n (kralstvo), царство n (carstvo)
• Manx: ard-rheam
• Maori: tominiana
• Middle English: seignurie
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: dominion m

  Nynorsk: dominion m

• Polish: dominium (pl) n
• Russian: влады́чество (ru) n (vladýčestvo), доминио́н (ru) m (dominión), ца́рство (ru) n (cárstvo)
• Scottish Gaelic: flathas m
• Spanish: dominio (es) m

taxonomy: kingdom — see kingdom

Christianity: order of angel, ranked above virtues and below thrones

• Hebrew: בַּעֲלוּת f (ba'alút)
• Irish: tiarnas m

Further reading

• “dominion”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “dominion”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Danish

Noun

dominion c (singular definite dominionen, plural indefinite dominioner)

1. dominion

Declension

Declension of dominion

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	dominion	dominionen	dominioner	dominionerne
genitive	dominions	dominionens	dominioners	dominionernes

Further reading

• “dominion” in Den Danske Ordbog

Finnish

Noun

dominion

1. genitive singular of dominio

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dominium, with the ending reinterpreted as French -on.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɔ.mi.njɔ̃/

• Audio (CAN)

  (file)

Noun

dominion m (plural dominions)

1. dominion

Descendants

• → Romanian: dominion

Further reading

• “dominion”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From English dominion, from Latin dominium.

Noun

dominion m (definite singular dominionen, indefinite plural dominioner or dominions, definite plural dominionene)

1. a dominion

Usage notes

The use of dominions as indefinite plural may be from Danish via Riksmål.

References

• “dominion” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “dominion” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From English dominion, from Latin dominium.

Noun

dominion m (definite singular dominionen, indefinite plural dominionar, definite plural dominionane)

1. a dominion

References

• “dominion” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French dominion.

Noun

dominion n (plural dominioane)

1. dominion

Declension

Declension of dominion

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) dominion	dominionul	(niște) dominioane	dominioanele
genitive/dative	(unui) dominion	dominionului	(unor) dominioane	dominioanelor
vocative	dominionule		dominioanelor