Domini

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term used in legal contexts to refer to ownership or control over property or land; it denotes the title or rights held by a person regarding their possessions; it can also indicate a lord's authority or dominion over a territory or subjects
2. A legal expression that signifies the ownership of land or goods; conveying the rights associated with property and its use; it may also reflect a sovereign's or landlord's governance over a region or people
3. An expression related to the rights of possession in legal terms concerning property or land; encompassing the responsibilities and privileges of a titleholder; it might symbolize the dominance of a ruler over their estate or followers

Etymology: "Domini" is the plural of "dominus," the Latin word for "master," and English took the singular directly from Latin. Its near relations are an interesting family: "dan," "dom," "domine," "dominie," and "don" all descend from the same Latin source, having entered English and other languages by different routes. "Don," the title for a Spanish gentleman or a university fellow, and "dominie," a old Scottish word for a schoolmaster, show how one Latin word for authority spread into very different corners of the language. The plural form "domini" is the one that appears in set phrases, most famously "Anno Domini" ("in the year of the Lord") and "Dominus vobiscum" ("the Lord be with you"). In these, the genitive or other inflected forms of "dominus" carry the sense of lordship and mastery that the Latin word had long before English adopted it.

Synonyms: lords, masters, owners, rulers

Antonyms: servants, subjects, peasants