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domino

Etymology and origin of the English word domino

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈdɒmɪnəʊ/ (UK); /ˈdɑməˌnoʊ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French domino.[2][3][4][5][6] The game sense is probably an extended use of domino as the name of a hooded cloak,[2][3][6] perhaps from the black backs of the pieces[3][4] or the likeness of the dots to the eyeholes of a mask.[2] The cloak was apparently named from Latin dominus (“lord, master”),[3][4] perhaps from the ritual formula benedicamus Domino “let us bless the Lord”,[2][5] though the connection is not clear.[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A hood with a cloak worn by priests or canons, and a mourning veil worn by women (1694).[3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

From 1719 the word named a loose cloak with a small mask worn at masquerades,[7] and later the mask itself or its wearer.[7][2][5] The game pieces were called dominoes in French by 1771 and in English from 1801.[3][4][7] In 1953 President Eisenhower used falling dominoes as an image for countries yielding one after another, the origin of the domino theory.[4]

Timeline

  • 1694 – a priest's hooded cloak; a mourning veil.[3][4][5]
  • 1719 – a masquerade cloak and mask.[7]
  • 1749 – a person wearing a domino.[7]
  • 1801 – a game piece; the game of dominoes.[3][4][7]
  • 1953 – the image behind the domino theory.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A small, flat, rectangular block whose face is divided into two halves, each blank or marked with one to six dots like those of dice.
  2. (plural) A game played with a set of usually 28 such pieces.
  3. A loose hooded cloak worn with a half mask at a masquerade; also the mask, or a person wearing the costume.
  4. A country expected to fall to a political change after its neighbour does, as in the domino theory.

Word family

  • domino effect
  • domino theory
  • dominate
  • dominion
  • domine

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Domino.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/domino. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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