domination

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English dominacioun,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French domination, also dominacion, recorded from the 12th century,^[5][2][6] and directly Latin dominātiō (“lordship, dominion, rule”) (accusative dominātiōnem),^[2][7][8] a noun of action from dominor (“to rule, have dominion over”),^[5][2][6] from dominus (“lord, master”), from domus (“house, home”),^[2][6] from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“house, household”).^[2] The Anglo-Norman dominacion is recorded from the early 12th century for dominion, rule and power, and also for the fourth order of angels.^[9] Dictionary.com notes that the Latin-shaped form replaced the Middle English one.^[8] The word is related to dominate, dominion and dome,^[6][10] and also to dame.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Power to rule or control; lordship, sway: about 1375, in Chaucer's Monk's Tale, "That god of heuene hath domynacioun Ouer euery regne and euery creature".^[3][6] The OED's first quotation is from Chaucer's Pardoner's Tale (c. 1386).^[5] Barnhart dates the sense "an angel of the fourth order" even earlier, probably to about 1343,^[6] but the OED's first record of it is from Trevisa (1398).^[5]

Semantic evolution

Besides rule over people, Middle English used the word for a realm, and your domination as a form of address, like "Your Highness".^[3][5] The sense "lordship, sovereignty" (1483, Caxton) and "a territory under rule" (c. 1440, Capgrave) died out by the mid-17th century,^[5][10] as did "predominance" (1526–63).^[5] In Christian theology the dominations were the fourth of the nine orders of angels of the Dionysian hierarchy, below the thrones and above the virtues;^[5][10] Johnson (1755) quotes Milton's "Thrones, dominations, princedoms, virtues, pow'rs", and gives also the senses "power, dominion" and "tyranny; insolent authority".^[12] In the 20th century the word was used of sexual activity or role-play in which one partner takes power over a submissive other, from 1960 in the OED and by 1961 in Etymonline.^[5][2]

Timeline

• probably c. 1343 – an angel of the fourth order, according to Barnhart.^[6]
• c. 1375 – power to rule or control, in Chaucer.^[3][6]
• 1398 – the fourth order of angels, in Trevisa.^[5]
• c. 1440 – a territory under rule (obsolete by 1654).^[5]
• 1483 – a lordship or sovereignty (obsolete by 1585).^[5]
• 1526 – predominance (obsolete by 1563).^[5]
• 1755 – Johnson: power, dominion; tyranny.^[12]
• 1960 – sexual domination.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The exercise of power or control over others; supremacy or ascendancy: the empire's domination of the spice trade.
2. The state of being dominated.
3. (Christian theology) (usually plural) A member of the fourth of the nine orders of angels, ranking below the thrones and above the virtues.
4. Sexual activity or role-play in which one partner takes a dominant role over a submissive other.

Word family

• nondomination

Related words

• dominate
• dominion
• domineering
• dominant
• dame
• dome

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
4. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.