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English Dictionary - With Multi-Lingual Search
| November 12, 2008 |
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| Word of the Week--"domain" | ||||||||||
| Definition--A territory over which rule of control is exercised. A sphere of activity, concern, of function; a
field: the domain of history.
Computing--A name that uniquely identifies a set of computers on the Internet. Physics--Any of numerous contiguous regions in a ferromagnetic material in which the direction of spontaneous magnetization is uniform and different from that in neighboring regions. Law--a. The land of one with paramount title and absolute ownership. b. Public domain. Mathematics--a. The set of all possible values of an independent variable of a function. b. An open connected set that contains at least one point. | ||||||||||
| Discussion--Today, domain is one of the most basic terms of the "dot com" revolution. Often in computing,
names make little sense, like the "cat" program which, in UNIX, types a file to the screen. In this case, the term domain was relevant to it's meaning.
Literally, a domain is the property of the lord. We all have areas over which we exercise control. We are the lords of this property or domain. This connotation gives us the sense of
absoluteness that is often associated with use of the term. My office is my private domain
where none shall enter without permission.
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| Etymology--The term domain comes from a blend of Old French and Latin dominium, meaning property, both from dominus, meaning lord. | ||||||||||
Foreign Translations
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