Etymograph

English

domain

Domain comes from Old French demaine ‘entourage of a king or another important person’, from Latin dominium ‘ownership’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build (up)’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dem-1‘to build (up)’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dṓm1‘home’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domanos1‘master’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominus1‘master, owner, possessor, proprietor’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominium1‘ownership’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400demaine1‘entourage of a king or another important person’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500demayne1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1954domain1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English domain
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1954, Trevor Holloway, Canada's Transcontinental Routes: “Bears and other ferocious beasts resented man's intrusion into…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dem-Wiktionary, English domain‘to build (up)’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dṓmWiktionary, English domain‘home’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domanosWiktionary, English domain‘master’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominusWiktionary, English domain‘master, owner, possessor, proprietor’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominiumWiktionary, English domain‘ownership’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400demaineWiktionary, English domain‘entourage of a king or another important person’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500demayneWiktionary, English domain
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1954domainWiktionary, English domain. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1954, Trevor Holloway, Canada's Transcontinental Routes: “Bears and other ferocious beasts resented man's intrusion into…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build (up)’

timber, despotic, toft, teem, domesticate, 20 more

through Proto-Indo-European *dṓm ‘home’

domestic, despot, domicile, domus, 21 more

through Latin dominus ‘master, owner, possessor, proprietor’

do, dan, don, dame, donna, dungeon, dominate, domination, damsel, domino, dominatrix, dominus, domine, 8 more

through Latin dominium ‘ownership’

danger, dominion, 4 more

through Middle English demayne

demesne

Today it means

noun A geographic area owned or controlled by a single person or organization.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “domain”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dem- / domain

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