You can mark you interesting snippets of text that will be available through a unique link in your browser.


dominion

Translation
dominion
/deuh min"yeuhn/, n.
1. the power or right of governing and controlling; sovereign authority.
2. rule; control; domination.
3. a territory, usually of considerable size, in which a single rulership holds sway.
4. lands or domains subject to sovereignty or control.
5. Govt. a territory constituting a self-governing commonwealth and being one of a number of such territories united in a community of nations, or empire: formerly applied to self-governing divisions of the British Empire, as Canada and New Zealand.
6. dominions, Theol. domination (def. 3).
[1400-50; late ME < MF < ML *dominion- (s. of *dominio) lordship, equiv. to L domin(ium) DOMINIUM + -ion- -ION]

* * *

▪ British Commonwealth
      the status, prior to 1939, of each of the British Commonwealth (British Empire) countries of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Eire, and Newfoundland (Newfoundland and Labrador). Although there was no formal definition of dominion status, a pronouncement by the Imperial Conference of 1926 described Great Britain and the dominions as “autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.”

      The main characteristics of dominion status were complete legislative authority as provided in the Statute of Westminster (Westminster, Statute of) (1931) and, in the executive sphere, the right of dominion ministers to direct access to the sovereign (previously advice on dominion matters could be tendered only by United Kingdom ministers). Internationally, it connoted the recognition of the dominions (except Newfoundland) as separate states, entitled to separate representation in the League of Nations and other international bodies, to appoint their own ambassadors, and to conclude their own treaties. At the same time, the dominions were not considered to stand in the same relation to the United Kingdom or among themselves as foreign countries. After 1947 the use of the expression was abandoned because it was thought in some quarters to imply a form of subordination, and the phrase “members of the Commonwealth” came into use.

      The definition of 1926 was modified in 1949, when it was agreed that countries could enjoy full Commonwealth membership but were not obligated to recognize the British monarch as their sovereign. The monarch was accepted as the symbol of the free association of the independent member nations and as such was the head of the Commonwealth. India was the first country to enter into such an arrangement, and by the 1990s it had been joined by most of the other Commonwealth nations. See also Commonwealth.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Synonyms:

  
Share  

Look at other dictionaries:

  • dominion — I (absolute ownership) noun claim, control, deed, demesne, domain, freehold, holding, interest, lawful possession, manor, ownership, possession, possessorship, power of disposal, property, proprietorship, right, right of possession, right to… …   Law dictionary

  • Dominion — Do*min ion, n. [LL. dominio, equiv. to L. dominium. See {Domain}, {Dungeon}.] 1. Sovereign or supreme authority; the power of governing and controlling; independent right of possession, use, and control; sovereignty; supremacy. [1913 Webster] I… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • dominion — 1> доминион Ex: D. Day День провозглашения доминиона (отмечается в Канаде 1 июля, в Новой Зеландии 28 сентября) Ex: D. Forces ист. войска доминионов Британской империи Ex: to obtain dominion status получить статус доминиона 2> суверенитет,… …   Новый большой англо-русский словарь

  • dominion — noun 1) доминион 2) oft. pl. владение 3) владычество, власть 4)суверенное право 5) attr. Dominion Day Syn: see jurisdiction …   Англо-русский словарь Мюллера

  • Dominion — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Dominion, de nombre real Matti Mäkelä, es un músico de Suecia que ha pertenecido a la banda de Dark Funeral, grabando y participando del álbum Diabolis Interim y en la gira Diabolis Interium world tour. Fue el… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Dominion — может относится к: Содержание 1 Кино и телевидение 2 Музыка 3 Компании 4 …   Википедия

  • dominion — m ingl доминион …   Большой итальяно-русский и русско-итальянский словарь

  • dominion — m ingl доминион …   Большой итальяно-русский и русско-итальянский словарь

  • Dominion — This article is about the Dominions of the British Empire and of the Commonwealth of Nations. For other uses, see Dominion (disambiguation) A dominion, often Dominion,[1] refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under… …   Wikipedia

  • Dominion — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Dominion (homonymie). Un dominion, mot d origine anglaise, désignait jusqu en 1948 un État autonome au sein de l Empire britannique. Le Canada, l Australie, la Nouvelle Zélande, l Afrique du Sud (alors l Union d… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dominion — Als Dominion (deutsch etwa Herrschaftsgebiet) wurden ab Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts offiziell die sich selbst verwaltenden Kolonien des Britischen Reiches bezeichnet. Der Begriff wurde erstmals im modernen Sinne im Verfassungsgesetz von 1867 des… …   Deutsch Wikipedia