demesne.

1. Land associated with a manor and kept for the owner's own use rather than let to tenants.

2. A territory or sphere regarded as belonging to someone's authority or activity.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• manorial demesne
• demesne lands

On the page

The manorial demesne began where the tenant fields ended.

No one had crossed the demesne lands since the steward disappeared.

Usage notes

Primary category: gothic. Forms: Singular demesne; plural demesnes. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.