dominion
nounattested in dialogue
- //dəˈmɪnjən//
- //doʊˈmɪnjən//
Power or the use of power; sovereignty over something; stewardship, supremacy.
noun
- 1
Power or the use of power; sovereignty over something; stewardship, supremacy.
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.
To choose between dominion or slavery.
'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.
Objects placed foremost ought […] have dominion over things which are confus'd and transient.
- 3
figurativeA kingdom, nation, or other sphere of influence; governed territory.
the dominions of a king the dominion of the passions
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
kingdom
- 5
An order of angel in Christian angelology, ranked above virtues and below thrones.
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.
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.
Forms
- plural
- dominions
dominion · Power or the use of power; sovereignty over something; stewardship, supremacy.
Dominion · Any of the self-governing nations of the British Commonwealth…Dominique · An American breed of chicken with a rose comb and a heavy…domino · A tile divided into two squares, each having 0 to 6 (or…