Etymologically
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dominance

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:08. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈdɒmɪnəns/[1]
  • US: /ˈdɑmɪnəns/, /ˈdɒmɪnəns/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English dominant + -ance,[2][3][4][5] perhaps after French dominance, recorded in French by 1743.[4] The OED compares an older Old French dominance of the 15th century.[2] Dominant itself comes from Old French dominant and its source Latin domināns (“ruling”), the present participle of dominor (“to rule, govern”), from dominus (“lord, master”), from domus (“house”).[4][6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The fact or position of being dominant; ascendancy or sway over others: 1819 according to Etymonline and Merriam-Webster,[4][7] 1823 in the OED's first quotation, from G. S. Faber.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

Its scientific senses came in the 20th century.[2] In genetics it names the way one allele shows itself while the other is masked, a use first found in Bateson's Mendel's Principles of Heredity (1902);[2][8] it follows dominant in genetics, which translated Mendel's dominierend of 1866.[2] Ecologists used it from 1923 for the prevalence of one or more species in a plant community.[2][3] In sociology and psychology it was paired with submission as a personality trait from 1915,[2] for the rank of an animal in its group's hierarchy;[7] since 1975 it has also been used for sexual role-play of domination and submission.[2]

Timeline

  • 1819 – ascendancy, control (Etymonline, Merriam-Webster).[4][7]
  • 1823 – the OED's first quotation.[2]
  • 1902 – genetics, the expression of one allele over another.[2][8]
  • 1915 – sociology and psychology, dominant and submissive behaviour.[2]
  • 1923 – ecology, the predominance of a species.[2]
  • 1975 – sexual domination and submission.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Power or control over others; the state of being dominant.
  2. (zoology) An animal's rank in the social hierarchy of its group; compare pecking order.
  3. (genetics) The expression of one allele of a gene while the other is masked.
  4. (ecology) The prevalence of one or more species in a plant or animal community.

Word family

  • codominance
  • nondominance
  • overdominance
  • semidominance
  • incomplete dominance

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)