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—domanial, adj./doh mayn"/, n.1. a field of action, thought, influence, etc.: the domain of science.2. the territory governed by a single ruler or government; realm.3. a realm or range of personal knowledge, responsibility, etc.4. a region characterized by a specific feature, type of growth or wildlife, etc.: We entered the domain of the pine trees.5. Law. land to which there is superior title and absolute ownership.6. Math.a. the set of values assigned to the independent variables of a function.b. region (def. 11a).7. Physics. one of many regions of magnetic polarity within a ferromagnetic body, each consisting of a number of atoms having a common polarity, and collectively determining the magnetic properties of the body by their arrangement.8. Crystall. a connected region with uniform polarization in a twinned ferroelectric crystal.9. a group of computers and devices on a network that are administered under the same protocol.10. the top level in a domain name, indicating the type of organization or geographical location and officially designated in the suffix, as .com for commercial enterprises in the U.S.[1595-1605; < F domaine, alter., by assoc. with L dominium DOMINIUM, of OF demeine < LL dominicum, n. use of neut. of L dominicus of a master, equiv. to domin(us) lord + -icus -IC]
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in Anglo-American law, the absolute and complete ownership of land, or the land itself which is so owned. Domain is the fullest and most superior right of property in land. Domain as a legal concept is derived from the dominium of the Roman law, which included the right of property as well as the right of possession or use of the property. The English common-law adoption of dominium was not comprehensive, omitting some of the finer distinctions developed by the Roman law.The concept has several specific applications. Land to which title is still retained by the United States, including agricultural and mineral land not yet granted to private owners, as well as land occupied by federal government buildings and facilities, is referred to as the public domain, which also describes the absolute ownership of such land by the United States. Eminent domain, in English common law, refers to the sovereign power of the king or state to appropriate private land for public use. See also eminent domain.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
