domain Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a particular environment or walk of life
    arena; sphere; area; orbit; field.
    • his social sphere is limited
    • it was a closed area of employment
    • he's out of my orbit
  2. noun territory over which rule or control is exercised
    land; demesne.
    • his domain extended into Europe
    • he made it the law of the land
  3. noun (mathematics) the set of values of the independent variable for which a function is defined
    domain of a function.
  4. noun people in general; especially a distinctive group of people with some shared interest
    world.
    • the Western world
  5. noun the content of a particular field of knowledge
    knowledge base; knowledge domain.

WordNet

Do*main" noun
Etymology
F. domaine, OF. demaine, L. dominium, property, right of ownership, fr. dominus master, owner. See Dame, and cf Demesne, Dungeon.
Definitions
  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) Ownership of land; an estate or patrimony which one has in his own right; absolute proprietorship; paramount or sovereign ownership.

Webster 1913