-dom

English

Etymology

From Middle English -dom, from Old English -dōm (“-dom: state, condition, power, authority, property, right, office, quality”, suffix), from Proto-West Germanic *-dōm, from Proto-Germanic *-dōmaz.

Cognate with Scots -dom (“-dom”), North Frisian -dom (“-dom”), West Frisian -dom (“-dom”), Dutch -dom (“-dom”), Low German -dom (“-dom”), German -tum (“-dom”), Danish -dom (“-dom”) -dømme (“-dom”), Swedish -dom (“-dom”) -döme (“-dom”), Norwegian -dom (“-dom”), Icelandic -dómur (“-dom”), Norwegian Bokmål -dømme, Norwegian Nynorsk -døme. Same as Old English dōm (“doom, judgment, sentence, condemnation, ordeal, judicial sentence, decree, ordinance, law, custom; justice, equity; direction, ruling, governing, command; might, power, supremacy, majesty, glory, magnificence, splendor, reputation, honor, praise, dignity, authority; state, condition”). No relation to English domain or dominion. More at doom.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /-dəm/

Suffix

-dom

1. Forming nouns denoting the condition or state of the suffixed word.

   boredom, freedom, martyrdom, stardom

   • 1995, Isabel Fonseca, Bury Me Standing, Vintage, published 2007, page 74:

     there always seemed to be one outrageous beauty: an angel who would have been forced into indentured topmodeldom had she been found on a Paris bus; or a wavy-lipped, chisel-chinned, almond-eyed boy-warrior out of the Iliad, as beautiful as humans come.

2. Forming nouns denoting the domain or jurisdiction of the suffixed word.

   Christendom, fiefdom, kingdom, Saxondom

3. Forming nouns — usually nonce words — denoting the set of all examples of the suffixed word.

   catdom, dogdom, furrydom, gothdom, wingdom

   • 2011 March 19, Caitlin Moran, The Times:

     It is only the English language that has let the cabbage down – giving it, quite frankly, the ugliest name in all of veg-dom.

4. (fandom slang) Forming nouns denoting the fandom of the suffixed word.

   Potterdom, stfdom

Derived terms

Anagrams

• MOD, MoD, ODM, mod, mod.

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse -dómr.

Suffix

-dom

1. Indicates a condition, situation or period.
2. Indicates a religion, teaching or similar.

Derived terms

References

• “-dom” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch -dom, from Old Dutch -duom, from Proto-West Germanic *-dōm, from Proto-Germanic *-dōmaz.

Cognate with English -dom, German -tum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɔm/

• Audio

  (file)

Suffix

-dom m

1. belonging to a domain or territory (e.g. groothertogdom (“grandduchy”); this sense is no longer productive)
2. quality or condition of the adjective stem (e.g. eigendom less productive than suffixes like -heid)

Derived terms

References

Low German

Alternative forms

• -doom

Etymology

From Middle Low German -dôm, from Old Saxon -dōm. Cognate with English -dom, Dutch -dom, German -tum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /doːm/, /doʊ̯m/, /dɔʊ̯m/

Suffix

-dom

1. belonging to a domain or territory (e.g. Hartogdom (“duchy”); this sense is no longer productive)
2. quality or condition of the adjective stem (e.g. Riekdom less productive than suffixes like -heit)

Derived terms

Middle English

Alternative forms

• -dam, -dame, -dome, -don, -doom, -dum

Etymology

Inherited from Old English -dōm, from Proto-West Germanic *-dōm, from Proto-Germanic *-dōmaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /-doːm/
• (reduced) IPA^(key): /-dum/, /-dam/

Suffix

-dom

1. Forming nouns denoting a state, condition, or office; -dom.
2. Forming nouns denoting a condition or quality; -dom.

Derived terms

Descendants

• English: -dom
• Scots: -dom

References

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse -dómr.

Suffix

-dom

1. Suffix used to form nouns out of adjectives, meaning the quality, property or condition of the adjective.

Derived terms

References

• “-dom” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse -dómr.

Suffix

-dom

1. Suffix used to form nouns out of adjectives, meaning the quality, property or condition of the adjective.

Derived terms

References

• “-dom” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *-dōm, from Proto-Germanic *-dōmaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /doːm/

Suffix

-dōm m

1. used to derive abstract nouns: -dom

   ‎cristen (“Christian”) + ‎-dom → ‎cristendōm (“Christianity”)

   ‎ealdor (“elder”) + ‎-dom → ‎ealdordōm (“authority”)

   ‎frēo (“free”) + ‎-dom → ‎frēodōm (“freedom”)

   ‎hǣþen (“pagan”) + ‎-dom → ‎hǣþendōm (“paganism”)

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

• Middle English: -dom, -dam, -dame, -dome, -don, -doom, -dum
  • English: -dom
  • Scots: -dom

Old Saxon

Etymology

From dōm (“state, condition, authority, jurisdiction”), from Proto-West Germanic *-dōm.

Suffix

-dōm

1. (belonging to a) domain or jurisdiction
2. condition or quality

Descendants

• Middle Low German: -dôm
  • Low German: -dom

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse -dómr.

Suffix

-dom c

1. -hood, -ledge, -ness; making a noun (representing a state) from an adjective or noun

   ‎rik (“rich”) + ‎-dom → ‎rikedom (“wealth, fortune”)

   ‎ung (“young”) + ‎-dom → ‎ungdom (“youth”)

   ‎barn (“child”) + ‎-dom → ‎barndom (“childhood”)

Usage notes

• These nouns don't double the m in definite or plural forms, e.g. rikedomen, ungdomar. This is the same for the noun dom (“judgement, verdict”).

Derived terms

See also

• -döme

Anagrams

• mod