dominion

Noun

dominion (countable and uncountable, plural dominions)

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.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Daniel 4:34, column 1
   • To choose between dominion or slavery.1881, Benjamin Jowett, Thucydides Translated into English
2. Predominance; ascendancy.
   • Objects placed foremost ought […] have dominion over things which are confus'd and transient.1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, translated by John Dryden, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], →OCLC
3. (figuratively, sometimes) 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!1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Four. The Last of the Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 137
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.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Colossians 1:16, column 2

   Synonyms:

   domination

Proper noun capitalized: Dominion

IPA/doʊˈmɪnjən/

Dominion

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