Dominus (title)

Dominus is the Latin word for Lord or owner. Dominus was used primarily as an imperial title during the era of the Roman Empire (25 BC – 1453 AD) and was also the Latin title of the feudal, superior and mesne, lords. Dominus was also used as an ecclesiastical and academic title during that time. The ecclesiastical title was translated from the French seigneur into English as sir, making it a common prefix for parsons before the Reformation. This is evident by the character's name Sir Hugh Evans in Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor. The title Dominus is still used in modern times for those with a Bachelor of Arts degree. The shortened form for Dominus – Dom – has remained in use in modern times as a prefix of honor for ecclesiastics of the Catholic Church, and members of religious orders, especially for those of the monastic Order of Saint Benedict, the Benedictines, who have professed perpetual religious vows. The Spanish equivalents of Doña and the French equivalent of Dame are given to nuns of the Benedictine order. Many romance languages use some form of the honorific Don, which derives from this term. Further, the Romanian word for God, Dumnezeu, derives from this title through the Latin phrase "Domine Deus." (Lord God) The Basque language uses jaundone (from Basque jaun, "lord", and Romance dom'ne) and done as a prefix for the names of some saints as in jaundone Jakue, "St. James" and Donostia (the city of San Sebastián).