noun · masculinesecond declension
dominus1
dominus m (genitive dominī, feminine domina)
Classical[ˈdɔ.mɪ.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈdɔː.mi.nus]
№ 241 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- masculinemaster, owner, possessor, proprietor
Consedere duces et vulgi stante corona surgit ad hos clipei dominus septemplicis Aiax, […]
8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 13.2 - masculineowner of a residence; master of his servants and slaves
- masculinelord, ruler
- masculinemaster of a feast, entertainer, host
- masculinemaster of a play or of public games, employer of players or gladiators
- masculinesir (a greeting, in the vocative case)
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
vir, quī domuī imperat; servī dominō pārent.dominus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Domus et Familia
cui servus pāretdominus -ī (m) — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 4
master, sir
dominus -ī — in Viri Romae Facillimi, ch. 2, 4, 5, 10, 11, 14, 15, 19, 25
a master
dominus — in Seneca, ch. X
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | dominus | dominī |
| genitive | dominī | dominōrum |
| dative | dominō | dominīs |
| accusative | dominum | dominōs |
| ablative | dominō | dominīs |
| vocative | domine | dominī |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- dominus gregis
- the manager.
- de servis quaerere (in dominum)
- to examine slaves by torture.
dŏmĭnus (in inscrr. sometimes written by syncop. DOMNVS), i, m. Sanscr. damanas, he who subdues, root dam-; Gr. δαμάω, δάμνημι, v. domo Prop., one who has subdued or conquered; hence,
I. a master, possessor, ruler, lord, proprietor, owner (cf. herus).
I. Prop.: quam dispari Dominare domino! Poëta ap. Cic. Off. 1, 39, 139:
nec domo dominus, sed domino domus honestanda est, etc., Cic. ib. 39, 139; cf. id. Fin. 1, 18, 58: (vilicus) consideret, quae dominus imperaverit, fiant, etc., Cato R. R. 5, 3 sq.; so opp. servus, Plaut. Am. 2, 2, 227; id. Mil. 3, 1, 149; Ter. Ad. 5, 6, 6; id. Eun. 3, 2, 33; Varr. R. R. 1, 2, 17; id. ap. Non. 355, 19; Cic. Deiot. 11, 30; Sall. J. 31, 11 et saep.; opp. familia, Ter. Ad. 1, 2, 9; opp. ancilla, Cic. de Or. 2, 68, 276; and (with herus) Plaut. Capt. 2, 3, 3; cf. id. Ps. 4, 7, 90 sq.; Cic. N. D. 2, 63 et saep.—Also of the master's son, the young master, Plaut. Capt. prol. 18: siet in iis agris, qui non saepe dominos mutant ... de domino bono colono melius emetur, Cato R. R. 1, 4; cf. Cic. Att. 12, 19; id. de Sen. 16, 56; Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 174; so, rerum suarum, Cic. Tusc. 3, 5, 11: auctionum, id. Quint. 5, 19: insularum, Suet. Caes. 41: equi, id. ib. 61 et saep.—II. In gen., a master, lord, ruler, commander, chief, proprietor, owner (in republican Rome of public men, usually with the accessory notion, unlawful, despotic):
hujus principis populi et omnium gentium domini atque victoris, Cic. Planc. 4 fin.; id. Off. 3, 21, 83; cf.: quippe qui (sc. populi) domini sint legum, judiciorum, belli, pacis, foederum, capitis, uniuscujusque, pecuniae, id. Rep. 1, 32: di domini omnium rerum ac moderatores, id. Leg. 2, 7; cf. id. Fin. 4, 5; id. Univ. 7: videsne, ut de rege (sc. Tarquinio) dominus exstiterit? hic est enim dominus populi, quem Graeci tyrannum vocant, etc., id. Rep. 2, 26; cf. id. 1, 45; Verg. A. 4, 214.— Trop.: liberatos se per eum dicunt gravissimis dominis, terrore sempiterno ac nocturno metu, Cic. Tusc. 1, 21; of the judge: qui rei dominus futurus est, id. de Or. 2, 17, 72; poët. of the possessor of an art, Ov. M. 1, 524; 13, 138.—b. Poet., sometimes as an adj.:
dominae manus, Ov. Am. 2, 5, 30: arae, Stat. Th. 5, 578: praebere caput domina venale sub hasta, the auction spear, Juv. 3, 33.—B. In partic.
1. With or without convivii or epuli, the master of a feast, the entertainer, host, Cic. Vatin. 13; Lucil., Varr., and Sall. ap. Non. 281, 21 sq.; Varr. ap. Gell. 13, 11, 5; Liv. 23, 8 al.—
2. The master of a play or of public games; the employer of players or gladiators:
quae mihi atque vobis res vortat bene Gregique huic et dominis atque conductoribus, Plaut. As. prol. 3; Cic. Att. 2, 19, 3.—3. In the period of the empire (Augustus and Tiberius declined it, Suet. Aug. 53; Tib. 27), a title of the emperors, Suet. Dom. 13; Mart. 5, 8; 10, 72; Phaedr. 2, 5, 14; Inscr. Orell. 1109; 1146 al.—
4. A term of endearment in addressing a lover, Ov. Am. 3, 7, 11.—
6. A master or assignee of a forfeited estate, Cic. Quint. 15, 50.—
7. Of Christ, the Lord (eccl. Lat.):
Augusti Caesaris temporibus natus est Dominus Christus, Oros. 6, 17 fin.; Vulg. Johan. 13, 13 et saep.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
dominus ī, m
2 DOM-, a master, possessor, ruler, lord, proprietor, owner : aedium, T.: servos, Quoi dominus curaest, T.: nec imperante domino: fugitivi ab dominis: Contemptae rei, H.: bonus adsiduusque, householder.—A master, lord, ruler, commander, chief, proprietor, owner, despot, tyrant : condicio omnium gentium domini: summi domini numen: populi, quem Graeci tyrannum vocant: dominum Aenean in regna recepit, V. — Fig.: gravissimi domini, terror ac metus: rei futurus, who must decide : nec prosunt domino artes, O.: Urget non lenis, i. e. passion , H.: vitae necisque, arbiter , L.— The master of a feast, entertainer, host , C.: dominorum invitatio, L.— The master of a public show , C.—A title of the emperor, master , Ph.
Origins
The original identity of the second vowel of this word is unclear: * from Proto-Italic *dom-o/u-nos (“of the house”); both u- and o-stems are found in other branches; * from Proto-Italic *domanos, from Proto-Indo-European *domHnos (“homeowner”), from *dṓm (“house”) + *-Hō (Hoffmann's suffix) via the oblique stem *-Hn-. In either case, likely further related to domus, from Proto-Italic *domos, from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“to build”).
Descendants
- Romaniandomnfrom Late Latin domnus
- Italiandonnofrom Late Latin domnus
- Portuguesedonofrom Late Latin domnus
- Sardiniandonnufrom Late Latin domnus
- Spanishdueñofrom Late Latin domnus
- Spanishdominófrom Medieval Latin dominō
- Frenchdominofrom Medieval Latin dominō
- Catalanen
- Catalanna
- Englishdomine