demesne

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Noun 1.3.1 Quotations 1.4 References

[edit] English

Wikipedia

[edit] Etymology

Old English demeine, demain, rule, Old French demeine, demaine, demeigne, domaine, power, French domaine domain, from Latin dominium property, right of ownership, from dominus master, proprietor, owner. See dame, and confer demain, domain, danger, dungeon.

[edit] Pronunciation

• 1: IPA: /ˌdɪˈmeɪn/
• 2: IPA: /ˌdɪˈmiːn/

[edit] Noun

demesne (plural demesnes)

1. A lord’s chief manor place, with that part of the lands belonging thereto which has not been granted out in tenancy; a house, and the land adjoining, kept for the proprietor’s own use.

[edit] Quotations

• 1816, John Keats, On First Looking into Chapman's Homer, lines 5-6

  Oft of one wide expanse had I been told

  That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne;

[edit] References

• demesne in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913