DEMESNE
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 5:50 pm
• demesne •
Pronunciation: dê-meyn • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: 1. An estate, the land and property owned by someone. 2. A district, region, territory, or realm dominated by someone; a domain or dominion. 3. {Law} The possession and use of a piece of land.
Notes: Today's Good Word has not only a silent E to be wary of, it also contains a silent S tucked away, uselessly, inside. Don't let either catch you unawares when you write this word.
In Play: If a person's home is his castle, his yard is his demesne: "I love my little demesne in the country; if only I didn't have to mow it." Demesnes are everywhere; you probably have several in your neighborhood: "The principal may make the rules, but the school is the demesne of the janitor, without whom nothing would work."
Word History: Today's Good Word is an excellent example of why spelling is so important. Demesne is a respelling of Middle English demeine, influenced by French mesne "lord of a manor or estate". Under the influence of dominion, the same word was respelled domain. Now we have two spellings to keep track of. Thank heaven the two spellings picked up two different meanings, so that we now have two different words from the one—a good example of how words multiply in a language. (Katy Brezger's demesne is somewhere in Michigan but you can find her discussing interesting words like this one every day in the Agora.)
Pronunciation: dê-meyn • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: 1. An estate, the land and property owned by someone. 2. A district, region, territory, or realm dominated by someone; a domain or dominion. 3. {Law} The possession and use of a piece of land.
Notes: Today's Good Word has not only a silent E to be wary of, it also contains a silent S tucked away, uselessly, inside. Don't let either catch you unawares when you write this word.
In Play: If a person's home is his castle, his yard is his demesne: "I love my little demesne in the country; if only I didn't have to mow it." Demesnes are everywhere; you probably have several in your neighborhood: "The principal may make the rules, but the school is the demesne of the janitor, without whom nothing would work."
Word History: Today's Good Word is an excellent example of why spelling is so important. Demesne is a respelling of Middle English demeine, influenced by French mesne "lord of a manor or estate". Under the influence of dominion, the same word was respelled domain. Now we have two spellings to keep track of. Thank heaven the two spellings picked up two different meanings, so that we now have two different words from the one—a good example of how words multiply in a language. (Katy Brezger's demesne is somewhere in Michigan but you can find her discussing interesting words like this one every day in the Agora.)