Dominus (title)
{{short description|Title in Ancient Rome}}
{{italic title}}
Dominus is the Latin word for Lord or owner.{{cite book |entry=domus, dominus |last1=De Vaan |first1=Michiel |author1-link=Michiel de Vaan |title=Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages |date=2008 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden, Boston |isbn=9789004167971 |page=177–179 |url=https://archive.org/stream/MichielVaanEtymologicalDictionaryOfLatin/Michiel%20Vaan%2C%20Etymological%20dictionary%20of%20Latin#page/n190/mode/1up |series=Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series |volume=7}} {{lang|la|Dominus}} was used primarily as an imperial title during the era of the Roman Empire (25 BC – 1453 AD) and was also the Latin title of the feudal, superior and mesne, lords. Dominus was also used as an
ecclesiastical and academic title during that
time. The ecclesiastical title was translated from the French {{lang|fr|seigneur}} into English as {{lang|eu|sir}}, making it a common prefix for parsons before the Reformation. This is evident by the character's name
Sir Hugh Evans in Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor. The title {{lang|la|Dominus}}, is still used in modetn times for those with a Bachelor of Arts degree.{{EB1911|inline=1 |wstitle=Dominus |volume=8 |page=405}}
The shortened form for Dominus – Dom – has remained in use in modern times as a prefix of honor for ecclesiastics of the Catholic Church, and members of religious orders, especially for those of the monastic Order of Saint Benedict, the Benedictines, who have professed perpetual religious vows. The Spanish equivalents of {{lang|spa|Doña}} and the French equivalent of {{lang|fr|Dame}} are given to nuns of the Benedictine order.
Many romance languages use some form of the honorific Don, which derives from this term.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Dominus |volume=8 |page=405}} Further, the Romanian word for God, {{lang|ro|Dumnezeu}}, derives from this title through the Latin phrase {{lang|la|"Domine Deus." (Lord God)}}Niculescu, Alexandru. [https://www.diacronia.ro/en/indexing/details/A24616/pdf Despre numele lui Dumnezeu în limba română].
The Basque language uses {{lang|eu|jaundone}} (from Basque {{lang|eu|jaun}}, "lord", and Romance {{lang|roa|dom'ne}}){{cite book |title=Hiztegia - EHHE |url=https://www.euskaltzaindia.eus/index.php?testua=jaundone&option=com_ehhe&task=hiztegia&Itemid=1695&lang=en&mark=058-0309 |access-date=3 May 2023 |chapter=jaundone|lang=eu}} and {{lang|eu|done}}{{cite book |title=OEH - Bilaketa - OEH |url=https://www.euskaltzaindia.eus/index.php?option=com_oehberria&task=bilaketa&Itemid=413&lang=eu&query=done |access-date=3 May 2023 |language=es |chapter=done}} as a prefix for the names of some saints as in {{lang|eu|jaundone Jakue}}, "St. James" and {{lang|eu|Donostia}} (the town of San Sebastian).
Etymology
{{Further|Wikt:dominus#Latin}}
The term derives from the Proto-Italic {{lang|itc-x-proto|*dom-o/u-no-}} meaning "[he] of the house," ultimately relating to the Proto-Indo-European root {{lang|ine-x-proto|*dem-}} meaning "to build," through domus (house); hence, the dominus is the lord and ruler of the house.
Roman imperial use
{{See also|Dominate}}
Originating from its use by slaves to address their masters, the title was sporadically used in addressing emperors throughout the Principate, usually in the form of excessive flattery (or political invective) when referring to the emperor.Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. XI, The High Empire (2008) p. 82 As a title of sovereignty, the term under the Roman Republic had all the associations of the Greek Tyrannos; refused during the early Principate, it finally became an official title of the Roman Emperors under Diocletian.{{EB1911|inline=1 |wstitle=Dominus |volume=8 |page=405}} Augustus actively discouraged the practice, and Tiberius in particular is said to have reviled it as sycophancy.Shorter, D., Rome and her Empire (2014) p. 174 Domitian encouraged its use,Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. XI, The High Empire (2008) p. 81 but none of the emperors used the term in any semi-official capacity until the reign of Aurelian in AD 274, where coins were issued bearing the inscription deus et dominus natus.Watson, A., Aurelian and the Third Century (2004) p. 188
However, under Diocletian the term {{lang|la|dominus}} was adopted as part of the emperor's official titulature, forming part of Diocletian's radical reforms.Menne, I., Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193–284 (2011) p. 21 It's from this use that the term Dominate is sometimes used to refer to the period of Roman history beginning with the reign of Diocletian.
English use
{{See also|Don (honorific)#United Kingdom|Dame|Madam}}
The feminine form {{lang|la|Domina}} was a title formerly given to noble ladies who held a barony in their own right in old English Law.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}} Many female honorifics used in modern English trace their roots back to this title, through the Anglo-French and still extant in modern French, {{lang|fr|dame}} and {{lang|fr|madame}}.{{cite web |title=Madame - Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9{{sup|e}} édition |url=https://www.dictionnaire-academie.fr/article/A9D0056 |website=Dictionnaire de l’Académie Française |access-date=2 December 2021}} The most common are madam and its contracted form ma'am.{{cite web |title=Definition of Madam |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/madam |website=Dictionary by Merriam-Webster |access-date=2 December 2021 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Definition of Ma'am |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ma%27am |website=Dictionary by Merriam-Webster |access-date=2 December 2021 |language=en}} Another notable example is Dame, a more narrow equivalent to Sir used for recipients of chivalric honors.{{cite web |title=Definition of Dame |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dame |website=Dictionary by Merriam-Webster |access-date=2 December 2021 |language=en}} (Damehood being the equivalent to the male knighthood.){{cite web|url=https://www.awardsintelligence.co.uk/queens-honours/knighthood-damehood|title=How to get a Knighthood or Damehood|year=2016|publisher=Awards Intelligence|language=en|access-date=25 October 2018|quote=A knighthood, and the female equivalent, a damehood, is an award given by The Queen to an individual for a major, long-term, contribution in any activity, usually at a national or international level.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025190151/https://www.awardsintelligence.co.uk/queens-honours/knighthood-damehood|archive-date=25 October 2018|url-status=dead}}
Cambridge University continues to use both {{lang|la|Dominus}} and {{lang|la|Domina,}} abbreviated as Dnus. and Dna. respectively, for those who have achieved a BA,{{cite web |title=Dominus/a |url=https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/university-archives/glossary/dominusa |website=Cambridge University Library — Glossary of Cambridge-related terminology |access-date=2 December 2021 |language=en |date=29 April 2020}} and its derived term Don continues to see use in reference to professors, lecturers, and fellows at Oxford and Cambridge.{{cite web |title=Oxford Glossary |url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/organisation/history/oxford-glossary |website=University of Oxford |access-date=2 December 2021}}{{cite web |title=Don |url=https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/university-archives/glossary/don |website=Cambridge University Library — Glossary of Cambridge-related terminology |language=en |date=29 April 2020}}
See also
- Don (honorific) - for the derived Romance language titles
- Roman Empire
References
{{reflist}}
{{Imperial, royal, and noble styles}}