Do*main" (?), n. [F. domaine,
OF. demaine, L. dominium, property, right of ownership,
fr. dominus master, owner. See Dame, and cf
Demesne, Dungeon.] 1. Dominion;
empire; authority.
2. The territory over which dominion or
authority is exerted; the possessions of a sovereign or commonwealth,
or the like. Also used figuratively.
The domain of authentic history.
E. Everett.
The domain over which the poetic spirit
ranges.
J. C. Shairp.
3. Landed property; estate; especially, the
land about the mansion house of a lord, and in his immediate
occupancy; demesne. Shenstone.
4. (Law) Ownership of land; an estate
or patrimony which one has in his own right; absolute proprietorship;
paramount or sovereign ownership.
Public domain, the territory belonging to a
State or to the general government; public lands. [U.S.] --
Right of eminent domain, that superior dominion
of the sovereign power over all the property within the state,
including that previously granted by itself, which authorizes it to
appropriate any part thereof to a necessary public use, reasonable
compensation being made.