Dictionary

owndom en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈoʊn.dəm/ (US)
• /ˈəʊn.dəm/ (UK)

Etymology

From own + -dom, a calque of German Eigentum (“property”), from eigen (“own”) + -tum (“-dom”). Compare Saterland Frisian Oaindum (“property, possession”), Dutch eigendom, West Frisian eigendom.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncommon, uncountable) Property.
   • The past is our own, the present is the owndom of the future. 1876, The Musical World:
   • Hence we maintain that man cannot be a man without property. He cannot be his own without an outward owndom. 1895, Stephen Pearl Andrews, The science of society:
   • There must be a tormenting feeling of self-insufficiency in me until I can realize that my self-possession subsumes my all. I must endure my goading ambition until I can acknowledge ownership of all of my owndom. 1980, John Morris Dorsey, University professor John M. Dorsey:
2. (countable, uncommon, uncountable) Personal belongings; possessions.
3. (countable, uncommon, uncountable) A characteristic; quality; attribute; trait.
4. (countable, uncommon, uncountable) Ownership; possession.
   • The king answers, and began first to say how Harold fair-hair had owned all the allodial land the Orkneys, "but the earls have held it since in fief, but never as their owndom[…]" 1894, Sturla Þórðarson, Guðbrandur Vigfússon, Sir George Webbe Dasent, Icelandic sagas and other historical documents relating to the Settlements and Descents of the Northmen on the British Isles:
5. (countable, uncommon, uncountable) Control of oneself; self-mastery.

Forms

Synonyms

propriety · race · attribute · possession · proprietorship · whatness · parameter · proprietorship · designation · propriety · propriety · owndom · property · aught · ownership · vein · distinctiveness · feature · owndom · race · belongings · possession · touch · hallmark · trait · characteristic · property · owndom · quality · belongings