WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Do*main"
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [F. domaine, OF. demaine, L. dominium, property, right of ownership, fr. dominus master, owner. See Dame, and cf Demesne, Dungeon.]
Definition : 1. Dominion; empire; authority.

2. The territory over which dominion or authority is exerted; the possessions of a sovereign or commonwealth, or the like. Also used figuratively. The domain of authentic history. E. Everett. The domain over which the poetic spirit ranges. J. C. Shairp.

3. Landed property; estate; especially, the land about the mansion house of a lord, and in his immediate occupancy; demesne. Shenstone.

4. (Law)

Defn: Ownership of land; an estate or patrimony which one has in his own right; absolute proprietorship; paramount or sovereign ownership. Public domain, the territory belonging to a State or to the general government; public lands. [U.S.]in the public domain may be used by anyone wihout restriction. -- Right of eminent domain, that superior dominion of the sovereign power over all the property within the state, including that previously granted by itself, which authorizes it to appropriate any part thereof to a necessary public use, reasonable compensation being made.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913