Dominis

Dominis is a Latin inflected form of the noun dominus, meaning master or lord. In classical Latin, dominus belongs to the second declension, and dominis occurs in the plural in two cases: the dative plural and the ablative plural. In both cases the spelling is the same, so the exact sense is determined by the grammatical role in the sentence. As a result, dominis can be translated as “to/for the lords” (dative plural) or “by/with the lords” (ablative plural).

Etymology and form

Domini is the genitive singular of dominus and also the nominative plural, but dominis is specifically a plural form in the dative and ablative. The underlying root is domin-, from which other forms such as dominus (singular), domini (plural nominative), and dominorum (plural genitive) are derived. Latin spelling conventions may render long vowels without diacritics in plain text, so dominis corresponds to dominīs in phonology, indicating the dative/ablative plural in classical orthography.

Usage and examples

Because dominis can denote two cases, its interpretation depends on syntactic function. Examples in translation:

- Donum dominis: “a gift to the lords” (dative plural).

- Cum dominis: “with the lords” (ablative plural, often introduced by a preposition).

In ecclesiastical or literary Latin, the form dominis may appear in contexts referring to multiple lords or authorities, again depending on case.

See also

Dominus, Latin grammar, Latin declensions, ecclesiastical Latin.