demesne

/dɪˈmeɪn/

//dɪˈmeɪn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"demesne" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“demesne” is uncommon English (frequency #65,047 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,047
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A lord's chief manor place, with that part of the lands belonging thereto which has not been granted out in tenancy; a house, and the land adjoining, kept for the proprietor's own use.

Corpus desk

Index EN-demesne · demesne · English

demesne · rank #65,047 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,047
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH desensitizati…

Nearest frequency peer: desensitization (+2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “demesne”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “demesne” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for demesne
PropertyValue
Headworddemesne
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɪˈmeɪn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#65,047
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “demesne” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).demesnefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “desensitization” (#65,049), “dehumanization” (#65,044), “deface” (#65,043). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “demesne” is #65,047. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

demesne is uncommon English at frequency #65,047 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /dɪˈmeɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for demesne in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English demayne, from Anglo-Norman demeyne, demene et al., Old French demeine, demaine, demeigne, domaine (“power”) (whence French domaine (“domain”)), a noun use of an adjective, from Latin dominicus (“belonging to a lord or master”), from domi… The correct English form is demesne, spelled D-E-M-E-S-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A lord's chief manor place, with that part of the lands belonging thereto which has not been granted out in tenancy; a house, and the land adjoining, kept for the proprietor's own use.
  2. 2
    A region or area; a domain.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how demesne appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. And whanne he sawe that he lete charce her oute of this land and bytoke hit me and alle this land in my demenys And when he saw that, he let chase her out of this land, and betook it me, and all this land in my demesnes.
  2. The Duke of Argyle led the way in silence to the small postern by which they had been admitted into Richmond Park, so long the favourite residence of Queen Caroline. It was opened by the same half-seen janitor, and they found themselves beyond the precincts of the royal demesne.

Etymology

From Middle English demayne, from Anglo-Norman demeyne, demene et al., Old French demeine, demaine, demeigne, domaine (“power”) (whence French domaine (“domain”)), a noun use of an adjective, from Latin dominicus (“belonging to a lord or master”), from dominus (“master, proprietor, owner”). See dame. Doublet of domain. The spelling with non-etymological s is partly due to influence from mesne and partly for the purpose of indicating a long vowel, as the s quiesced before a consonant; compare aisle, isle, Carlisle.

This word in other languages

dominio(Español)Fronhof(Deutsch)domínio(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "demesne"?
"demesne" is spelled D-E-M-E-S-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈmeɪn/.
What does "demesne" mean?
As a noun, "demesne" means: A lord's chief manor place, with that part of the lands belonging thereto which has not been granted out in tenancy; a house, and the land adjoining, kept for the proprietor's own use.
How do you pronounce "demesne"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "demesne" is /dɪˈmeɪn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "demesne"?
From Middle English demayne, from Anglo-Norman demeyne, demene et al., Old French demeine, demaine, demeigne, domaine (“power”) (whence French domaine (“domain”)), a noun use of an adjective, from Latin dominicus (“belonging to a lord or master”),... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "demesne", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

damming#65,034dogfish#65,061Dorking#65,064cutlets#65,029

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list