demesne

noun

de·​mesne di-ˈmān  -ˈmēn 

1

: legal possession of land as one's own

2

: manorial land actually possessed by the lord and not held by tenants

3

a

: the land attached to a mansion

b

: landed property : estate

c

: region sense 2, territory

4

: realm sense 2, domain

Did you know?

Why isn't "demesne" pronounced the way it's spelled? Our word actually began as "demayn" or "demeyn" in the 14th century, when it was borrowed from Anglo-French property law. At that time, the Anglo-French form was "demeine." Later, the Anglo-French spelling changed to "demesne," perhaps by association with another term from Anglo-French property law: mesne, meaning "intermediate." ("Mesne" has entered English as a legal term as well.) According to rules of French pronunciation, the "s" was silent and the vowel was long. English speakers eventually followed suit, adopting the "demesne" spelling. Our word domain (which overlaps with the meaning of "demesne" in some applications) also comes from Anglo-French demeine.

Synonyms

• area
• field
• region
• zone

Examples of demesne in a Sentence

the vast and frozen demesne of the northern tundra

the view that the issue is not in the demesne of the courts and is something that should be decided by the state legislature

Recent Examples on the Web

In the resulting economy, trade was used simply to exchange surplus goods for other types of surplus produced by other demesnes, rather than to spur specialized production for an unknown buyer. —Branko Milanovic, Foreign Affairs, 19 Mar. 2020

A couple of centuries or so later, the peninsula became part of a Spanish land grant, and the demesne of Manuel Dominguez as his Rancho San Pedro. —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2024

Now, 15 seasons later, Whittingham has beamed himself to a different sphere, a rare demesne of security, a comfort zone as wide as Jimmy Kimmel’s, hovering consistently in a most lofty realm. —Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 12 Nov. 2021

In Loki, the titular character finds himself in the bizarre (almost Brazil style) demesne of the Time Keepers, an organization devoted to ensuring the sanctity of the timeline. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 5 Apr. 2021

Still, enough of the original grounds remain as part of Biltmore’s grandeur as to suggest, even today, a demesne with a castle at its center. —Stuart Ferguson, WSJ, 29 Sep. 2017

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French demesne, demeine — more at domain

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

demesne

noun

de·​mesne di-ˈmān  -ˈmēn 

1

: realm sense 2, domain

2

: land actually possessed by the lord of an estate and not held by tenants

3

a

: the land attached to a mansion

b

: property that is land : estate

c

: region sense 2a, territory