dominion

name

1. Any of the self-governing nations of the British Commonwealth until 1949.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English dominion, from Middle French dominion, from Latin dominium (“lordship, right of ownership”), from dominus (“lord”), from domus (“house”). See demain, demesne, domain, dominium.

1. Power or the use of power; sovereignty over something; stewardship, supremacy.

   “And at the end of the dayes, I Nebuchad-nezzar lift vp mine eyes vnto heauen, and mine vnderſtanding returned vnto me, and I bleſſed the moſt high, and I praiſed, and honoured him that liueth for euer, whoſe dominion is an euerlaſting dominion, and his kingdome is from generation to generation.”

   “To choose between dominion or slavery.”

2. Predominance; ascendancy.

   “Objects placed foremost ought […] have dominion over things which are confus'd and transient.”

3. A kingdom, nation, or other sphere of influence; governed territory.

   “the dominions of a king  the dominion of the passions”

   “Oh cold, cold, rigid, dreadful Death, set up thine altar here, and dress it with such terrors as thou hast at thy command: for this is thy dominion!”

4. kingdom
5. An order of angel in Christian angelology, ranked above virtues and below thrones.

   “For by him were all things created[…], whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”