kingdom English · revision 4230

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=a. 1000|origins=ang cyningdōm}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkɪŋ.dəm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|kingdom]],^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|cyningdōm|t=kingship]],^(Etymonline)^(COED 2004) from cyning “king” and -dōm, the suffix [[-dom]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024) It is cognate with Old Saxon kuningdōm, Middle Dutch koninghdom and Old Norse konungdómr.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) The usual Old English word was cynedōm, and Middle English also had kingrick, whose second element is that of German Reich.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Kingly authority, sovereignty: before 1000 in the OED,^(OED 1989) a sense obsolete since the late 17th century.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A monarchical state is from before 1300,^(OED 1989) and the territory subject to a king from about 1250.^(OED 1989) The spiritual sovereignty of God or Christ, and its realm, are from before 1300,^(OED 1989) and ''kingdom come'', “the next world”, originally slang from 1785, is from the Lord's Prayer, where ''thy kingdom come'' is an archaic subjunctive.^(Etymonline) A realm or sphere in which something prevails is from 1362.^(OED 1989) One of the realms of nature, animal, vegetable and mineral, is from the 1690s.^(Etymonline) ''The Kingdom'' has been a familiar name for Fife since 1710.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 1000 – kingship.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1250 – a king's territory.^(OED 1989)

+ * a. 1300 – a monarchy, and God's kingdom.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1362 – a realm or sphere.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1690s – a realm of nature.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1785 – ''kingdom come''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A country or territory ruled by a [[king]] or queen.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The eternal spiritual sovereignty of God or Christ, or its realm.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A realm or sphere in which one thing is dominant: ''the kingdom of the imagination''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # In biology, one of the main divisions into which living things are classified, such as the animal and plant kingdoms.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[subkingdom]]

+ * [[underkingdom]]

+ * [[hermit kingdom]]

+ * [[kingdom come]]

+ * [[United Kingdom]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[king]]

+ * [[-dom]]

+ * [[kingship]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}