Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Domain \Do*main"\, n. [F. domaine, OF. demaine, L. dominium, property, right of ownership, fr. dominus master, owner. See Dame, and cf Demesne, Dungeon.]
Dominion; empire; authority.
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The territory over which dominion or authority is exerted; the possessions of a sovereign or commonwealth, or the like. Also used figuratively. [WordNet sense 2]
The domain of authentic history.
--E. Everett.The domain over which the poetic spirit ranges.
--J. C. Shairp. Landed property; estate; especially, the land about the mansion house of a lord, and in his immediate occupancy; demesne. [WordNet sense 2]
--Shenstone.(Law) Ownership of land; an estate or patrimony which one has in his own right; absolute proprietorship; paramount or sovereign ownership.
(Math.) the set of values which the independent variable of a function may take. Contrasted to range, which is the set of values taken by the dependent variable.
(Math.) a connected set of points, also called a region.
(Physics) a region within a ferromagnetic material, composed of a number of atoms whose magnetic poles are pointed in the same direction, and which may move together in a coordinated manner when disturbed, as by heating. The direction of polarity of adjacent domains may be different, but may be aligned by a strong external magnetic field.
(Computers) an address within the internet computer network, which may be a single computer, a network of computers, or one of a number of accounts on a multiuser computer. The domain specifies the location (host computer) to which communications on the internet are directed. Each domain has a corresponding 32-bit number usually represented by four numbers separated by periods, as 128.32.282.56. Each domain may also have an alphabetical name, usually composed of a name plus an extension separated by a period, as worldsoul.org; the alphabetical name is referred to as a domain name.
(Immunology) the three-dimensional structure within an immunoglobulin which is formed by one of the homology regions of a heavy or light chain.
--Dict. Sci. Tech.-
the field of knowledge, expertise, or interest of a person; as, he had a limited domain of discourse; I can't comment on that, it's outside my domain. [WordNet sense 5]
Syn: domain, realm, field, area. [PJC]
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a particular environment or walk of life. [WordNet sense 1]
Syn: sphere, domain, area, orbit, field, arena. [PJC]
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people in general; especially a distinctive group of people with some shared interest. [WordNet sense 4] Syn: world, domain. [PJC] Public domain,
the territory belonging to a State or to the general government; public lands. [U.S.]
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the situation or status of intellectual property which is not protected by copyright, patent or other restriction on use. Anything
in the public domain may be used by anyone without restriction. The effective term of force of copyrights and patents are limited by statute, and after the term expires, the writings and inventions thus protected go into the public domain and are free for use by all.
Right of eminent domain, that superior dominion of the sovereign power over all the property within the state, including that previously granted by itself, which authorizes it to appropriate any part thereof to a necessary public use, reasonable compensation being made.
Wiktionary
n. 1 The realm of intellectual property which is not protected by patents or copyright, i.e. over which no person or other legal entity can establish a proprietary interest. 2 Open land such as unowned prairie in the western and southwestern United States; space not subject to a land patent.
WordNet
n. property rights that are held by the public at large
Wikipedia
Public domain lands are those that cannot be sold since they are considered to belong to the whole community. Public domain land is managed by a public entity like, in different countries, the State, a region, a province or a municipality, directly or by institutes or state companies. It is referred to as dominio público (Spanish), domínio público (Portuguese), domaine public (French) or demanio pubblico (Italian). Examples of public domain land are the margins of the sea and of rivers, roads, railways, ports, airports, military areas, etc..
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Public Domain is a 2003 Canadian film about reality TV. It was directed by Kris Lefcoe and stars Nicole de Boer, Mike Beaver, Lindy Booth and Dov Tiefenbach. The film is openly critical of reality TV and portrays the hosts and producers as cruel and heartless people. While it was considered a "feature" film, it has toured film festivals more than it has been screened in cinemas.
Public domain refers to works whose intellectual property rights have expired, have been forfeited, or are inapplicable.
It may also be used in relationship to:
Public Domain (subtitled Songs from the Wild Land) is an album by American artist Dave Alvin, released in 2000.
At the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards the album won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album.
"The Murder of the Lawson Family" was recorded by The Stanley Brothers in March 1956. It is based on the mass murder of his family by Charlie Lawson.
Works in the public domain are those whose exclusive intellectual property rights have expired, have been forfeited, or are inapplicable. For example, the works of Shakespeare and Beethoven, and most of the early silent films, are all now in the public domain by either being created before copyrights existed or leaving the copyright term. Examples for works not covered by copyright which are therefore in the public domain, are the formulae of Newtonian physics, cooking recipes and all software before 1974. Examples for works actively dedicated into public domain by their authors are reference implementations of cryptographic algorithms, NIH's ImageJ, and the CIA's The World Factbook. The term is not normally applied to situations where the creator of a work retains residual rights, in which case use of the work is referred to as "under license" or "with permission".
As rights are country-based and vary, a work may be subject to rights in one country and be in the public domain in another. Some rights depend on registrations on a country-by-country basis, and the absence of registration in a particular country, if required, creates public domain status for a work in that country.
Usage examples of "public domain".
In a moment he opened his eyes and looked slowly and dazedly about him, taking in the warm, high-roofed dimness of the hall, the glow of the fire, the heavy hangings that screened two alcoves withdrawn from the public domain, and the half-open door of the solar from which Cenred had emerged.
When the action moved into the public domain with the seizure of Yama-Shita's three ocean-going junks, the Herald was already on his way south to Nyo-poro with the Consul-General's grieving wife and her three tearstained children.
Equality of men and women in the noosphereequal access to the public domain of the noosphere and equal rights in that domaindoes not mean that a rigid 50-50 parity must be maintained in all areas.