Etymograph

English

domicile

Domicile comes from Latin domicilium ‘a habitation, dwelling, domicile, abode, home’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dem-1‘to build’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dṓm1‘house, home’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domos1‘house, home’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomus2‘home, house’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomicilium2‘a habitation, dwelling, domicile, abode, home’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600domicile2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500domicelle2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1838domicile2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin domus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English domicile
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1838, Reports of Cases Decided in the Supreme : “the status of marriage has been indelibly fixed by…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dem-Wiktionary, Latin domus‘to build’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dṓmWiktionary, Latin domus‘house, home’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domosWiktionary, Latin domus‘house, home’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomusWiktionary, English domicile‘home, house’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomiciliumWiktionary, English domicile‘a habitation, dwelling, domicile, abode, home’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600domicileWiktionary, English domicile
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500domicelleWiktionary, English domicile
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1838domicileWiktionary, English domicile. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1838, Reports of Cases Decided in the Supreme : “the status of marriage has been indelibly fixed by…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build’

timber, domino, despotic, domaine, toft, teem, 19 more

through Proto-Indo-European *dṓm ‘house, home’

danger, don, domain, dominate, domination, damsel, despot, dominatrix, 20 more

through Proto-Italic *domos ‘house, home’

domesticate, 8 more

through Latin domus ‘home, house’

domestic, donna, dome, dominion, domus, 9 more

Today it means

noun A home or residence.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “domicile”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin domus. 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- / domicile

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