-dom
/-dəm/US/-dɑm/
-dom suffix: forms nouns denoting the condition or state of the root word.
Suffix (1)
-dom (noun-forming suffix, countable and uncountable, plural -doms)
- Forms nouns denoting the condition or state of the root word.
- boredom, freedom, martyrdom, stardom
- Forms nouns denoting the domain or jurisdiction of the root word.
- Christendom, fiefdom, Hindudom, Islamdom, kingdom, Saxondom
- Forms nouns — usually nonce words — denoting the set of all examples of the suffixed word.
- catdom, dogdom, furrydom, gothdom, wingdom
- It is only the English language that has let the cabbage down – giving it, quite frankly, the ugliest name in all of veg-dom.2011 March 19, Caitlin Moran, The Times
- Forms nouns denoting the fandom of the suffixed word.
- Potterdom, stfdom
Suffix (2)
-dom (noun-forming suffix, countable and uncountable, plural -doms)
- Forms uncountable nouns denoting a type of domination.
- Forms countable nouns denoting a type of dominator.
Forms of -dom
| plural | -doms |
|---|
Origin of -dom
From Middle English -dom, from Old English -dōm (“-dom: state, condition, power, authority, property, right, office, quality”, suffix), from Proto-West Germanic *-dōm, from Proto-Germanic *-dōmaz. Cognate with Scots -dom (“-dom”), North Frisian -dom (“-dom”), West Frisian -dom (“-dom”), Dutch -dom (“-dom”), Low German -dom (“-dom”), German -tum (“-dom”), Danish -dom (“-dom”) -dømme (“-dom”), Swedish -dom (“-dom”) -döme (“-dom”), Norwegian -dom (“-dom”), Icelandic -dómur (“-dom”), Norwegian Bokmål -dømme, Norwegian Nynorsk -døme. Same as Old English dōm (“doom, judgment, sentence, condemnation, ordeal, judicial sentence, decree, ordinance, law, custom; justice, equity; direction, ruling, governing, command; might, power, supremacy, majesty, glory, magnificence, splendor, reputation, honor, praise, dignity, authority; state, condition”). No relation to English domain or dominion. More at doom.
From dom, shortening of variously domination, dominance, or dominator.
Words formed from -dom
- apedom
- birddom
- boredom
- crocodiledom
- fishdom
- freedom
- frogdom
- halidom
- heirdom
- mammaldom
- martyrdom
- muscledom
- reptiledom
- saintdom
- selfdom
- sharkdom
- stardom
- whoredom
- wisdom
- Caesardom
- Christendom
- computerdom
- dukedom
- earldom
- fandom
- fiefdom
- filmdom
- gaydom
- Hindudom
- Islamdom
- kingdom
- moviedom
- planetdom
- popedom
- princedom
- Saxondom
- sheikdom
- tsardom
Questions about -dom
- What does -dom mean?
- -dom means forms nouns denoting the condition or state of the root word.
- What part of speech is -dom?
- -dom is a suffix.
- How do you pronounce -dom?
- -dom is pronounced /-dəm/ (UK).
Words near -dom in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: -dom (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl--dom.wav.
Cite this entry: “-dom.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/-dom. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.