1. Roman law. An owner of a thing or inheritance.
2. Roman law. The title of the emperor in the later empire.
3. Hist. A lord; a feudal superior, as in dominus rex (“the lord of the king”), dominus capitalis (“a chief lord”), dominus medius (“an intermediate lord”), and dominus ligius (“a liege lord”).
4. Hist. Eccles. law. Lord; sir. • This is a title of distinction usu. given to a knight, a clergyman, a lord of a manor, or another gentleman of quality.
5. Civil law. Someone who possesses something by right. Pl. domini.