demesnes









demesnes


noun

  1. possession of land as one’s own: land held in demesne.
  2. an estate or part of an estate occupied and controlled by, and worked for the exclusive use of, the owner.
  3. land belonging to and adjoining a manor house; estate.
  4. the dominion or territory of a sovereign or state; domain.
  5. a district; region.

noun

  1. land, esp surrounding a house or manor, retained by the owner for his own use
  2. property law the possession and use of one’s own property or land
  3. the territory ruled by a state or a sovereign; realm; domain
  4. a region or district; domain
n.

c.1300, demeyne (modern spelling by late 15c.), from Anglo-French demesne, demeine, Old French demaine “land held for a lord’s own use,” from Latin dominicus “belonging to a master,” from dominus “lord.” Re-spelled by Anglo-French legal scribes under influence of Old French mesnie “household” (and the concept of a demesne as “land attached to a mansion”) and their fondness for inserting -s- before -n-. Essentially the same word as domain.

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