domestic

Domestic is an adjective with several related senses centered on home, country, or tame status in biology. It commonly refers to things connected with the home or household, to internal national affairs, and to organisms tamed and kept by humans.

In the home and family sphere, domestic describes activities, spaces, and objects within a dwelling. Examples include domestic chores, domestic appliances, and domestic life. This usage emphasizes private, everyday life as opposed to public or professional domains.

In political and economic contexts, domestic refers to matters within a particular country. Domestic policy covers government actions on internal issues such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Domestic commerce or the domestic market concerns goods and services produced and consumed inside the country, as distinct from imports or foreign trade.

In biology and agriculture, domestication is the process by which wild species are adapted to human use. Domestic animals, such as dogs, cattle, and sheep, and domestic crops arise through selective breeding and management, resulting in traits favorable to human needs and governance.

Other common uses include legal and social contexts, such as domestic violence, describing abuse within a household, and terms like domestic partnership or domestic shipments and flights, which operate within a single country. Etymologically, domestic derives from Latin domesticus, meaning belonging to a house, through the centuries broadening to its current range of meanings.