dominate

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈdɒm.ɪ.neɪt/, /ˈdɒm.əˌneɪt/ (UK); /ˈdɑ.məˌneɪt/, /ˈdɑ.mɪˌneɪt/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dominātus, the past participle of dominor (“to rule, govern”),^[2][3][4] or a back-formation from domination,^[2] from dominus (“lord, master”), from domus (“house”),^[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“house, household”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To rule over, control by mastery: 1611 in the OED and Merriam-Webster, the 1610s in Etymonline.^[5][3][2]

Semantic evolution

The intransitive sense, to predominate or prevail, is by 1816–18,^[2][5] and to have the chief influence on something by 1818.^[2] To command a place from a height, as a hill dominating a town, is from 1833.^[5]

Timeline

• 1611 – to rule over.^[5][3]
• 1816 – to predominate.^[2]
• 1833 – to overlook from a height.^[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To control or rule by superior power or authority.
2. To have the strongest influence on; to be the most important or noticeable feature of.
3. To tower above; to overlook from a height.

Word family

• dominative
• dominator
• dominatingly
• undominated
• overdominate
• redominate

Related words

• domination
• domineering
• dominant
• dominion
• domain
• domineer
• dame

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press