dominance English · revision 39442

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1819|origins=la domus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈdɒmɪnəns/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈdɑmɪnəns/, /ˈdɒmɪnəns/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|en|dominant|-ance]],^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)^(Dictionary.com 2016) perhaps after [[fr|dominance]], recorded in French by 1743.^(Etymonline) The OED compares an older [[fro|dominance]] of the 15th century.^(OED 2026) [[dominant|alt=Dominant]] itself comes from [[fro|dominant]] and its source [[la|domināns|t=ruling]], the present participle of [[m|la|dominor|t=to rule, govern]], from [[m|la|dominus|t=lord, master]], from [[m|la|domus|t=house]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The fact or position of being dominant; ascendancy or sway over others: 1819 according to Etymonline and Merriam-Webster,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) 1823 in the OED's first quotation, from G. S. Faber.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Its scientific senses came in the 20th century.^(OED 2026) 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);^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) it follows [[m|en|dominant]] in genetics, which translated Mendel's [[m|de|dominierend]] of 1866.^(OED 2026) Ecologists used it from 1923 for the prevalence of one or more species in a plant community.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) In sociology and psychology it was paired with submission as a personality trait from 1915,^(OED 2026) for the rank of an animal in its group's hierarchy;^(MWU 2024) since 1975 it has also been used for sexual role-play of domination and submission.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1819 – ascendancy, control (Etymonline, Merriam-Webster).^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1823 – the OED's first quotation.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1902 – genetics, the expression of one allele over another.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED)

+ * 1915 – sociology and psychology, dominant and submissive behaviour.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1923 – ecology, the predominance of a species.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1975 – sexual domination and submission.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Power or control over others; the state of being [[dominant]].^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(zoology)'' An animal's rank in the social hierarchy of its group; compare [[pecking order]].^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(genetics)'' The expression of one [[allele]] of a [[gene]] while the other is masked.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(ecology)'' The prevalence of one or more [[species]] in a plant or animal community.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[codominance]]

+ * [[nondominance]]

+ * [[overdominance]]

+ * [[semidominance]]

+ * [[incomplete dominance]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dominate]]

+ * [[domination]]

+ * [[predominance]]

+ * [[dominion]]

+ * [[domain]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}