Etymograph

English

dominion

Dominion comes from Latin dominium ‘lordship, right of ownership’, from dominus ‘lord’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dem- ‘to build’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dem-1‘to build’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dṓm1‘house, home’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domos1‘house, home’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomus2‘house’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominus2‘lord’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominium2‘lordship, right of ownership’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600dominion2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dominion2
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1611dominion2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin domus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English dominion
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And at the end of the dayes, I Nebuchad-nezzar…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dem-Wiktionary, Latin domus‘to build’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dṓmWiktionary, Latin domus‘house, home’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*domosWiktionary, Latin domus‘house, home’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdomusWiktionary, English dominion‘house’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominusWiktionary, English dominion‘lord’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdominiumWiktionary, English dominion‘lordship, right of ownership’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600dominionWiktionary, English dominion
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dominionWiktionary, English dominion
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1611dominionWiktionary, English dominion. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “And at the end of the dayes, I Nebuchad-nezzar…”

Linked words

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

timber, despotic, toft, teem, 23 more

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

despot, 22 more

through Proto-Italic *domos ‘house, home’

domesticate, 8 more

through Latin domus ‘house’

domestic, dome, domicile, domus, 9 more

through Latin dominus ‘lord’

do, dan, don, dame, donna, dungeon, damsel, domaine, 13 more

through Latin dominium ‘lordship, right of ownership’

danger, domain, 4 more

Today it means

noun Power or the use of power; sovereignty over something; stewardship, supremacy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dominion”; 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- / dominion

Shirt and support for this word