ˈkiŋdəm noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English cyningdōm, from cyning king + -dōm -dom — more at king
1. obsolete : kingship
2. : a major territorial unit subject to a monarchical form of government usually headed by a king or queen : the realm of a king
inclusion of additional provinces in the Italian kingdom
when plantations were like small kingdoms — William Beebe
travels through the kingdoms of Europe
— compare empire 1a, principality
3. : a politically organized community (as a nation or state) having a monarchical form of government usually headed by a king
the new Christian kingdoms found themselves at war with the Barbary — C.S.Forester
decreed Spain a kingdom (without a king) — S.G.Rich
4. often capitalized
a. : the eternal kingship or sovereignty of God
Jesus, to whom the authority of the kingdom is delegated, heals sickness — R.H.Strachan
b. : the spiritual realm over which God reigns as king : heaven
all I now have is what my Father is keeping … for us in His kingdom — Voice of Prophecy News
c. : the fulfillment on earth of God's will especially in complete perfection
the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand — Mk 1:14 (Revised Standard Version)
d. : the invisible society of human beings in which God is held to be obeyed
members of the kingdom were to strive to be examples of the life which God deemed ideal for men — K.S.Latourette
5. : a realm or region in which something is dominant
the rise of a kingdom of wheat in the Old Northwest — W.O.Lynch
in the untroubled kingdom of reason — Bertrand Russell
a cattle kingdom
6. : one of the three primary divisions into which natural objects are commonly classified — see animal kingdom , mineral kingdom , plant kingdom
7. : an area or sphere in which one exercises authority like a king
his gambling kingdom — Dean Jennings
busy … increasing the size and ornamentations of our personal kingdoms — Saturday Review
8. : a hostel for men or for women that provides living quarters at low cost to members of a religious movement among Negroes in the United States known as Father Divine's Peace Mission Movement
with Father Divine … at a meeting in one of his kingdoms — M.L.Bach