English

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 2007, p. 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 denoting the fandom of the suffixed word.

   furrydom, gothdom, Potterdom, stfdom

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

   catdom, dogdom

   • 2011, Caitlin Moran, The Times, 19 Mar 2011:

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

Derived terms

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch -dom, from Old Dutch -duom, from Proto-Germanic *dōmaz. Cognate with English -dom, German -tum.^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɔm/

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

1. ↑ J. de Vries & F. de Tollenaere, "Etymologisch Woordenboek", Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, Utrecht, 1986 (14de druk)

Low German

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɔm/

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

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 dōm ‎(“state, condition, authority, jurisdiction”).

Suffix

-dōm

1. Belonging to a domain or jurisdiction.
2. Condition or quality.

Derived terms

Descendants

• English: -dom

Old Saxon

Etymology

From dōm ‎(“state, condition, authority, jurisdiction”).

Suffix

-dōm

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

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse -dómr.

Suffix

-dom

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