Etymologically
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dominate

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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

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