LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · feminineirregular, variously declined, fourth declension, second declension

domus

domus f (genitive domūs or domī)
Classical[ˈdɔ.mʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈdɔː.mus]
№ 73 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. house, home (the building where a person lives)
    Deō domuīqueFor God and for home (motto of Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne)
    Stet fortūna domūsLet the good fortune of the house stand (motto of Harrow School, England)
  2. a townhouse
  3. any dwelling-place or abode (of people or animals)
  4. the place of one's birth or residence, native country, town
  5. alsothe place of one's birth or residence, native country, town
  6. a group of disciples, school; an intellectual movement
  7. house, dynasty
  8. idiomaticone's own possessions or resources
    domum trahereto drag into one's pocket
    Domī versūra fit.One is one's own creditor. (proverb)
  9. idiomaticpeace
    bellī domīque; bellō domīque; vel bellī vel domī; domī bellōque; domī mīlitiaequein war and peace
    ut non quietior populus domi esset quam militiaeso that the people should not become lazier in the time of peace than that of war27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 1.38

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

aedificium, in quō familia habitat; mea domus tōta in hāc tabulā pīcta est.
domus -ūs f — in Mille Verba, Domus et Familia
domus ab umbrīs vexāta
domus īnfesta — in Epistulae, ch. 14
a house
domus — in Seneca, ch. I

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Ædificium · Domus · Ædes · Familia

1. Ædificium is the generic term for buildings of all sorts, like οἰκοδόμημα; domus, and ædes, ædium, mean ‘a dwelling-house;’ domus, as the residence and home of a family; ædes (αἴθω, αἴθουσα), as composed of several apartments, like δόμοι, δώματα. Virg. G. ii. 461. Ingentem foribus domus alta superbis mane salutantum totis vomit ædibus undam. (vi. 8.) 2. Domus denotes ‘a family’ in the patriarchal sense, as a separate society, of which the individuals are mutually connected; familia, in a political sense, as part of a gens, civitas, or populus. (v. 301.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativedomus
domuscula		domūs
domusculae
genitivedomūs
domī, domusculae		domuum
domōrum, domusculārum
dativedomuī
domō, domusculae		domibus
domusculīs
accusativedomum
domusculam		domūs
domōs, domusculās
ablativedomū
domō, domusculā		domibus
domusculīs
vocativedomus
domuscula		domūs
domusculae
locativedomīdomīs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

domi se tenere
to never appear in public.
domus rimas agit
the house walls are beginning to crack.
domi (opp. foris)
at home; in one's native country.
se proripere ex domo
to rush out of the house.
domus ruina impendet
the house threatens to fall in (vid. sect. X. 5, note "Threaten"...).
domo pedem non efferre
to never set foot out of doors.
deducere aliquem de domo
to escort a person from his house.
domo profugus (Liv. 1. 1)
homeless.
15 more phrases
domum demoliri (Top. 4. 22)
to demolish, raze a house.
domo emigrare (B. G. 1. 31)
to emigrate.
domus patet, aperta est mihi
I am always welcome at his house.
domus non omnes capit (χωρειν)
the house is not large enough for all.
domus subita ruina collapsa est
the house suddenly fell in ruins.
domus necessariis rebus instructa
a comfortably-furnished house.
domum aedificandam locare, conducere
to give, undertake a contract for building a house.
domum frequentare (Sall. Cat. 14. 7)
to be a regular visitor at a house.
domus collapsura, corruitura (esse) videtur
the house threatens to fall in (vid. sect. X. 5, note "Threaten"...).
expellere aliquem domo, possessionibus pellere
to turn a person out of his house, his property.
apud eum sic fui tamquam domi meae (Fam. 13. 69)
I felt quite at home in his house.
hospitio aliquem accipere or excipere (domum ad se)
to welcome a man as a guest in one's house.
habitare in domo alicuius, apud aliquem (Acad. 2. 36. 115)
to live in some one's house.
invitare aliquem tecto ac domo or domum suam (Liv. 3. 14. 5)
to invite some one to one's house.
tecto, (in) domum suam aliquem recipere (opp. prohibere aliquem tecto, domo)
to welcome to one's house (opp. to shut one's door against some one).

dŏmus, ūs and i, 2d and 4th decl., f. Sanscr. damas, house; Gr. root δέμ-ω, to build, whence δόμος, δεσ-πότης for δεμσπότης; cf. Germ. Zimmer; Eng. timber, etc.,
I. a house, home (for syn. cf. aedes, casa, domicilium, habitatio; mansio, sedes, tectum, tugurium; aedificium, moles). —Forms of the cases.
a. Sing.
(a). Nom.: domus, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 206; id. Bacch. 3, 1, 6 al.; Ter. And. 5, 3, 20; id. Eun. 5, 9, 8 al.; Cic. Lael. 27, 103; id. Rep. 1, 43; 3, 9 et saep.—
(b). Gen., in the comic poets only the ante-class. form domi: haud quod tui me neque domi distaedeat, Plaut. Am. 1, 3, 5: commeminit domi, id. Trin. 4, 3, 20; cf.: domi focique fac vicissim ut memineris, Ter. Eun. 4, 7, 45: domi cupio (i.q. cupidus sum), Plaut. Trin. 4, 1, 22; acc. to Don. Ter. l. l.: decora domi, Caecil. ap. Don. l. l.: conviva domi, Afran. ap. Non. 337, 23. But since Varro (except as infra, 2.): domūs, Varr. L. L. 5, § 162 Müll. (twice); Cat. 64, 246; Verg. G. 4, 209; id. A. 1, 356; 4, 318; 645; 6, 27; 53; 81; Hor. C. 4, 12, 6; id. S. 2, 5, 108; Ov. M. 2, 737; Stat. S. 5, 2, 77; Suet. Caes. 81 et saep. The uncontr. form domuis, Varr. ap. Non. 491, 22; and Nigidius, acc. to Gell. 4, 16, 1; the form domos, used by Augustus exclusively, acc. to Suet. Aug. 87 (or domuos, acc. to Ritschl; v. Neue Formenl. 1, 362; cf. SENATVOS from senatus in the S. C. de Bacan.).—
(g). Dat.: domo, Cato R. R. 134, 2; 139; 141, 2; Hor. Ep. 1, 10, 13 (ex conj. Lachm.; also Lucr. 5, 1267); much more freq. domui, Caes. B. C. 3, 112, 8; Quint. 1, 10, 32; 7, 1, 53 Spald. and Zumpt N. cr.; Tac. H. 4, 68; Ov. M. 4, 66; id. Tr. 1, 2, 101; 3, 12, 50; id. Pont. 1, 2, 108; 3, 1, 75.—
(d). Acc.: domum, Plaut. Aul. prol. 3; id. Bacch. 3, 3, 54; Ter. Eun. 2, 3, 90; Cic. Rep. 1, 39; 2, 5; 6, 19; 23; 26 et saep.—Apoc. form do = δῶ (for δῶμα): endo suam do, Enn. ap. Diom. p. 436 P.; and ap. Aus. Idyll. 12, 18 (Ann. v. 563 ed. Vahl.).—(ε) Voc.: domus, Enn. ap. Cic. Off. 1, 39, 139; id. ap. Cic. de Or. 3, 26, 102; 3, 58, 217; Nov. ap. Non. 510; Verg. A. 2, 241.—(ζ) Abl., usually domo, Plaut. Aul. 1, 2, 27; id. Curc. 1, 3, 53 et saep.; Ter. Eun. 5, 5, 18; Cic. Rep. 2, 4; id. Off. 1, 39, 139 (four times) et saep.: domu, Plaut. Mil. 2, 1, 48; Cic. Phil. 2, 18, 45; Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 49, § 128; Inscr. Grut. 599, 8; cf. Quint. 1, 6, 5.—
b. Plur.
(a). Nom., only domus, Verg. G. 4, 481; Liv. 3, 32, 2; 42, 1, 10; Suet. Ner. 38.—
(b). Gen.: domorum (poet.), Lucr. 1, 354; 489 saep.; Verg. G. 4, 159; id. A. 2, 445; usually domuum, Plin. 36, 13, 19, § 88; 8, 57, 82, § 221; Tac. A. 3, 24; 6, 45; Juv. 3, 72; Sen. Ep. 122, 9; Dig. 33, 2, 32, § 2 et saep.—
(g). Dat. and abl., only domibus, Varr. L. L. 5, § 160 Müll.; Caes. B. G. 6, 11, 2; id. B. C. 3, 42 fin.; Quint. 9, 4, 4; Tac. A. 3, 6; id. H. 1, 4; id. G. 46; Verg. G. 2, 443; Hor. C. 1, 22, 22; id. S. 2, 6, 71 et saep.—
(d). Acc. usually domos, Plaut. Poen. 3, 6, 19; Lucr. 1, 18; 6, 241; Cic. Rep. 1, 13 (twice); Caes. B. G. 1, 30, 3; id. B. C. 3, 82, 4; Sall. C. 12, 3 and 4; Verg. G. 1, 182 et saep. The MSS. often vary between domos and domus; cf. Beier Cic. Off. 2, 18, 64; Drak. Liv. 3, 29, 5; Oud. Suet. Claud. 25; so Verg. A. 1, 140; id. G 4, 446 al. The form domus is certain, Att. ap. Gell. 14, 1, 34; Quadrig. ib. 17, 2, 5; so Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 4, § 7; Liv. 45, 1, 10.—
2. Adverbial forms.
a. Domi (also domui in good MSS. of Cic. Cat. 2, 6, 13; id. Tusc. 1, 22, 51; id. Mil. 7, 16; id. Att. 12, 25, 1; id. Off. 3, 26, 99; and Auct. Her. 4, 30, 41; 4, 54, 67; v. Neue, Formenl. 1, 540), at home, in the house, Plaut. Am. 2, 1, 12 et saep; Ter. And. 3, 2, 34 et saep.; Cic. Lael. 1, 2; id. Rep. 1, 13; id. Fin. 5, 15, 42 et saep.; Verg. E. 3, 33; Hor. S. 1, 1, 67; id. Ep. 1, 5, 3 et saep.; cf. opp. foris, Plaut. Capt. 1, 2, 33; id. Merc. 3, 4, 2 (twice); Cic. Phil. 2, 11, 26; Sall. C. 52, 21 et saep.: meae domi, Plaut. Aul. 3, 2, 18; id. Most. 1, 3, 34; id. Mil. 2, 2, 3; Ter. Hec. 2, 2, 15; and in the order domi meae, Cato ap. Charis. p. 101 P.; Plaut. Ep. 4, 1, 36; Cic. Fam. 10, 25 fin.: tuae domi, id. ib. 4, 7, 4: suae domi, Plaut. Pers. 4, 3, 43; and in the order domi suae, Plaut. Truc. 2, 6, 50; Cic. Mil. 7; id. Caecin. 4, 10; Quint. 1, 1, 22 al.: nostrae domi, Plaut. Men. 2, 3, 9; id. Poen. 4, 2, 16; Cic. Tusc. 5, 39; and in the order domi nostrae, Plaut. Most. 4, 1, 18; Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 2: alienae domi, id. Tusc. 1, 22, 51; id. Fam. 4, 7, 4; id. Dom. 40, 105: domi Caesaris, id. Att. 1, 12, 3; 2, 7, 3 Orell. N. cr.: istius domi (educatus), id. Quint. 5, 21; cf.: domi illius (fuisti), id. Div. in Caecil. 18, 58; id. Cluent. 60, 165: cujus domi fueras, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 42: id. Phil. 2, 14, 35; 2, 19, 48; id. Fam. 9, 3 fin.—
b. Domum, home, homewards, to the house, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 40 et saep.; Ter. And. 1, 5, 20 et saep.; Cic. Lael. 3, 12; Cic. Verr. 1, 9, 25; id. Ac. 1, 3 et saep.; Verg. E. 1, 36; 10, 77 et saep.: domum meam, Cic. Att. 1, 1, 3; id. Fam. 9, 19: domum suam, Plaut. Am. 2, 2, 31; Cic. Rep. 1, 14; 2, 9; id. Rosc. Am. 18 fin.; Caes. B. G. 2, 10, 4 al.: domum regiam (comportant), Sall. J. 76 fin.: Pomponii domum (venisse), Cic. Off. 3, 31, 112: domum Roscii, id. Rosc. Com. 9, 26: cujusdam hominis nobilis domum, id. Or. in Toga Cand. p. 521 ed. Orell.: domum reditio, Caes. B. G. 1, 5: domum concursus, id. B. C. 1, 53.—When more persons than one are spoken of, the plur. is freq. used: domos, Liv. 3, 5; 27, 51; 28, 2; Curt. 9, 8, 1 al.: domos nostras, Plaut. Poen. 3, 6, 19: domos suas, Sall. J. 66, 3; and: suas domos, Liv 2, 7; but the sing. also: Suebi domum reverti coeperunt, Caes. B. G. 1, 54.—Sometimes also with in and acc.: rex in domum se recepit, Liv. 44, 45: in domos atque in tecta refugere, id. 26, 10: cur non introeo in nostram domum? Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 253; id. Capt. 4, 4, 3: venisse in M. Laecae domum, Cic. Cat. 1, 4; cf. Caes. B. C. 2, 18, 2; and Suet. Vesp. 5.—
c. Domo.
(a). From home, out of the house, Plaut. Am. 1, 3, 4; id. Stich. 1, 1, 29; id. Trin. 4, 3, 3; id. Mil. 4, 2, 7 et saep.; Ter. Eun. 4, 3, 19; id. Phorm. 4, 1, 20; Cic. Rep. 1, 12; id. Fl. 6, 14; id. Or. 26, 89 et saep.—
(b). For domi, at home, in the house (rare): domo sibi quaerere remedium, Cic. Clu. 9, 27: haec ubi domo nascuntur, Varr. R. R. 1, 8, 2: domo se tenere, Nep. Epam. 10, 3: domo abditus, Suet. Caes. 20 tabulae domo asservantur, App. Apol. p. 541.—With in: in domo furtum factum ab eo, qui domi fuit, Quint. 5, 10, 16: rem quam e villa mea surripuit, in domo mea ponat, Sen. Const. Sap. 7 med.: in domo sua facere mysteria, Nep. Alcib. 3 fin.: quid illuc clamoris obsecro in nostra domo est? Plaut. Cas. 3, 4, 29; id. Ps. 1, 1, 82; Sen. Cons. ad Marc. 26: educatus in domo Pericli, Nep. Alcib. 2; so, in domo ejus, id. Lys. 3, 5; Tac. A. 4, 21.—
3. In colloq. lang.: domi habere aliquid, to have a thing at home, i. e. to have it about one, to have in abundance, to be provided with it, to have or know it one's self: domi habet animum falsiloquum ... Domi dolos, domi delenifica facta, domi fallacias, Plaut. Mil. 2, 2, 36 sq.: domi habuit unde disceret, Ter. Ad. 3, 3, 59 Ruhnk. In a like sense: id quidem domi est, Cic. Att. 10, 14, 2; cf. Plaut. Truc. 2, 5, 4: sed quid ego nunc haec ad te, cujus domi nascuntur? γλαῦκʼ εἰς Ἀθήνας, Cic. Fam. 9, 3 fin.—
B. Poet. transf., any sort of building or abode. So of the labyrinth, Verg. A. 6, 27; of a sacred grotto, id. ib. 6, 81; of the abode of the gods, id. ib. 10, 1; 101; Ov. M. 4, 736; 6, 269 al.; of the winds, Verg. G. 1, 371; Ov. M. 1, 279; of animals, Verg. G. 2, 209; id. A. 5, 214; Stat. Th. 1, 367; of birds, Verg. A. 8, 235; of Danaë's prison, Prop. 2, 20, 12 (3, 13, 12 M.); of the tomb: marmorea, Tib. 3, 2, 22; the same, DOMVS AETERNA, Inscr. Orell. 1174; 4525 sq.: AETERNALIS, ib. 4518 (cf. in Heb. for the grave, Eccl. 12, 5); and: CERTA, ib. 4850; of the body, as the dwelling of the soul, Ov. M. 15, 159; 458 et saep.
II. Meton.
A. In a wider sense, one's native place, country, home. M. Su. Siculus sum Syracusanus. M. So. Ea domus et patria est mihi, Plaut. Men. 5, 9, 10; so (with patria), id. Merc. 3, 4, 68; Verg. A. 7, 122; also with patria as an adjective, Plaut. Merc. 5, 1, 2; Ov. M. 11, 269; cf. also Plaut. Mil. 2, 5, 41; Verg. A. 5, 638; Ov. M. 13, 227 al.: domi aetatem agere, opp. patriă procul, Enn. ap. Cic. Fam. 7, 6; cf. Plaut. Ps. 4, 7, 75; id. Capt. 2, 1, 3; id. Poen. 5, 2, 6; Caes. B. G. 1, 18, 6; 1, 20, 2; Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 17; id. Q. Fr. 2, 14 fin.; Sall. C. 17, 4; id. J. 8, 1 et saep.: legiones reveniunt domum, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 33; so id. ib. 52; Cic. Fam. 7, 5; Caes. B. C. 1, 34, 3; Liv. 23, 20 al.: ut (Galli) domo emigrent, Caes. B. G. 1, 31, 14: qui genus? unde domo? Verg. A. 8, 114; 10, 183.—Hence, the phrases belli domique, and domi militiaeque, in war and peace, v. bellum and militia; and cf.: noster populus in pace et domi imperat ... in bello sic paret, ut, etc., Cic. Rep. 1, 40.—
B. A household, family, race (cf. the Gr. οἶκος, and the Heb. , v. Gesen. Lex. s. h. v. 7): domus te nostra tota salutat, Cic. Att. 4, 12; id. Fam. 13, 46; Liv. 3, 32; Quint. 7, 1, 53 (twice); Tac. A. 3, 55; id. Agr. 19; Suet. Aug. 25; Verg. A. 1, 284; 3, 97: tota domus duo sunt, Ov. M. 8, 636; id. F. 4, 544; Hor. C. 1, 6, 8; 3, 6, 26; Vulg. Matt. 10, 6 et saep.—Hence,
b. In philos lang., a philosophical school, sect, Cic. Ac. 1, 4; Sen. Ep. 29 fin.; id. Ben. 5, 15.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *domos, from Proto-Indo-European *dṓm (“house, home”), from root *dem- (“to build”). Cognates include Ancient Greek δόμος (dómos), Albanian dhomë (“a chamber, a room”), Avestan 𐬛𐬀𐬨- (dam-) Sanskrit दम (dáma), Proto-Slavic *domъ and further to English timber. At least indirectly cognate to Latin dominus. The feminine gender is probably due to the original root noun; attempts to transfer it to the 4th declension are due to 2nd declension feminines being unusual outside of tree names. Some manuscripts of Plautus show forms in dem-; De Vaan (2008) doubts their authenticity.

Descendants
  • Italianduomo
  • Frenchdômefrom Italian duomo
  • Portuguesedomofrom Italian duomo
  • Italiandomo
  • Sardiniandomu
  • Sardiniandomo
  • Sardiniandommu
  • Piedmontesedòmfrom Italian duomo
  • Piedmontesedomfrom Italian duomo
  • Old Frenchdom

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesDomusDomus (οἰκία, οἴκησις, οἰκητήριον, a dwelling-house; οἶκος, generally a room; in Homer and the Tragedians, δόμος, but more usually in the plural as a …

Quick answers

What does domus mean in Latin?
domus, a noun, means “house, home (the building where a person lives); any dwelling-place or abode (of people or animals); the place of one's birth or residence, native country, town”.
What is the genitive of domus?
The genitive singular is domūs. domus is feminine, irregular, variously declined, fourth declension, second declension.
How do you pronounce domus?
In classical Latin, [ˈdɔ.mʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈdɔː.mus].