/ dəˈmɪniən; NAmE / noun
1.
[ U ] ~ (over sb/sth) ( literary ) authority to rule; control :
Man has dominion over the natural world.
Soon the whole country was under his sole dominion.
2.
[ C ] ( formal ) an area controlled by one ruler :
the vast dominions of the Chinese Empire
3.
(often Dominion ) [ C ] ( in the past ) any of the countries of the British Commonwealth that had their own government
—compare colony , protectorate
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : via Old French from medieval Latin dominio(n-) , from Latin dominium , from dominus lord, master.