domino

See also: dominó, dominò, and Domino

English

Two domino blocks

Etymology

1801, borrowed from French domino (1771), originally the term for a hooded garment, itself from Medieval Latin domino, oblique case of dominus (“lord, master”); compare Medieval Latin dominicale (“a kind of veil”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: dŏ'mĭnō, IPA^(key): /ˈdɒmɪnəʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) enPR: dämĭnō, IPA^(key): /ˈdɑmɪnoʊ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

domino (plural dominos or dominoes)

1. (dominoes) A tile divided into two squares, each having 0 to 6 (or sometimes more) dots or pips (as in dice), used in the game of dominoes. [from c. 1800]
   • 2000, “The Hollow”, performed by A Perfect Circle:

     Dominoes of indiscretions down
     Falling all around, in cycles, in circles
     Constantly consuming
     Conquer and devour

   • 2012 July 11, Tony Plakas, “Mitt's Mormon marriage march”, in Sun-Sentinel‎^[1]:

     The Mormon church's past anti-gay positions and its role in financing Proposition 8 – California's 2008 ban on same-sex marriage – may have been the first dominoes to fall around the faithful, but vetting Mitt Romney as a presidential candidate links the straightforward similarities between Mormonophobia and homophobia.

2. (politics) A country that is expected to react to events in a neighboring country, according to the domino effect.
3. A masquerade costume consisting of a hooded robe and a mask covering the upper part of the face.

   Synonym: domino costume

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society, published 1973, page 485:

     all the women were desirous of having the bundle immediately opened; which operation was at length performed by little Betsy, with the consent of Mr Jones: and the contents were found to be a domino, a mask, and a masquerade ticket.

   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Masked Ball”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 175:

     The chair being announced, she fastened on her mask, and drew her domino round her, it not being her intention to display her splendid and fantastic costume till supper, when all the guests were expected to unmask.

   • 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Affair at the Novelty Theatre”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:

     For this scene, a large number of supers are engaged, and in order to further swell the crowd, practically all the available stage hands have to ‘walk on’ dressed in various coloured dominoes, and all wearing masks.

   • 1983, Lawrence Durrell, Sebastian (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 1007:

     Then he hunted for the black carnival domino, supposing that it was the appropriate thing for a penitent to wear.

4. The mask itself.

   Synonyms: domino mask, half mask, eyemask

   • 1872, James De Mille, The Cryptogram‎^[2], HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2009:

     He wore a domino, but beneath it could be seen his whiskers, cut after the English fashion, and long and pendent.

5. The person wearing the costume.
6. (geometry) A polyomino made up of two squares.

   Synonym: 2-omino

7. (music, colloquial) A mistake in performing.
   • 1932, The Musical Times and Singing-class Circular, page 263:

     Any player is liable to make a 'domino' — that is to say, he goes wool-gathering and continues to play when everyone else has stopped. If he does so at a grown-up concert the fault is irredeemable […]

Derived terms

• domino computer
• domino effect
• dominoes
• Dominoid
• dominolike
• domino surgery
• domino theory
• domino whist
• galloping domino
• polyomino
• triomino

 

Related terms

• dominate

n squares	name
1 squares	monomino
2 squares	domino
3 squares	tromino or triomino
4 squares	tetromino
5 squares	pentomino
6 squares	hexomino
7 squares	heptomino
8 squares	octomino
9 squares	nonomino or enneomino
10 squares	decomino
11 squares	undecomino
12 squares	dodecomino
n squares	n-omino
unspecified number squares	polyomino

Translations

block used in dominoes

• Bulgarian: домино (bg) n (domino)
• Catalan: dòmino (ca) m, dominó (ca) m
• Czech: dominový kámen n, dominová kostka f
• Danish: dominobrik c
• Finnish: domino (fi), dominopalikka, dominonappula
• Galician: dominó m
• Georgian: დომინო (domino)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: dominobrikke m or f

  Nynorsk: dominobrikke f

• Plautdietsch: Domieno m
• Polish: domino (pl) n
• Portuguese: dominó (pt) m
• Romanian: domino (ro) n
• Russian: кость (ru) f (kostʹ), костя́шка (ru) f (kostjáška), colloq. домино́шка (ru) f (dominóška)
• Spanish: dominó (es) m
• Tagalog: domino
• Thai: โดมิโน (th) (doo-mí-nôo)

country responding to the domino effect

• Finnish: domino (fi)

masquerade costume

• Catalan: dominó (ca) m
• Danish: domino (da) c
• Finnish: naamiaisasu (fi)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: domino m

  Nynorsk: domino m

• Polish: domino (pl) n
• Russian: домино́ (ru) n (dominó)

mask

• Bulgarian: домино (bg) n (domino)
• Catalan: dominó (ca) m
• Czech: škraboška (cs) f
• Danish: domino (da) c, halvmaske c
• Finnish: naamio (fi)
• Russian: домино́ (ru) n (dominó)

person wearing the costume

• Catalan: dominó (ca)
• Polish: domino (pl) n

polyomino made up of two squares

• Finnish: domino (fi)
• Russian: домино́ (ru) n (dominó)

Verb

domino (third-person singular simple present dominoes, present participle dominoing, simple past and past participle dominoed)

1. (intransitive) To collapse in the manner of dominoes.
   • 2010, Ring of Fire: An Indonesian Odyssey, →ISBN, page 107:

     A dismasting often means the dominoing of one mast into the other, down through the decks, cannoning the cargo through the hull below, and sinking the ship very quickly.

2. (transitive) To cause to collapse in the manner of dominoes.

Translations

collapse in the manner of dominoes

cause to collapse in the manner of dominoes

See also

etymologically unrelated terms

• a non domino
• pro domino

 

Further reading

• “domino”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “domino”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• monoid

Catalan

Verb

domino

1. first-person singular present indicative of dominar

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdomɪno]
• Rhymes: -ɪno

Noun

domino n

1. dominoes

Declension

Declension of domino (hard neuter)

	singular	plural
nominative	domino	domina
genitive	domina	domin
dative	dominu	dominům
accusative	domino	domina
vocative	domino	domina
locative	dominu	dominech
instrumental	dominem	dominy

Further reading

• “domino”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “domino”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Finnish

Etymology

From French domino.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdomino/, [ˈdo̞mino̞]
• Rhymes: -omino
• Hyphenation^(key): do‧mi‧no

Noun

domino

1. (dominoes) dominoes
2. (dominoes) a domino (tile)

Declension

Inflection of domino (Kotus type 2/palvelu, no gradation)
nominative		domino	dominot
genitive		dominon	dominojen dominoiden dominoitten
partitive		dominoa	dominoja dominoita
illative		dominoon	dominoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		domino	dominot
accusative	nom.	domino	dominot
	gen.	dominon
genitive		dominon	dominojen dominoiden dominoitten
partitive		dominoa	dominoja dominoita
inessive		dominossa	dominoissa
elative		dominosta	dominoista
illative		dominoon	dominoihin
adessive		dominolla	dominoilla
ablative		dominolta	dominoilta
allative		dominolle	dominoille
essive		dominona	dominoina
translative		dominoksi	dominoiksi
abessive		dominotta	dominoitta
instructive		—	dominoin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of domino (Kotus type 2/palvelu, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative dominoni dominoni accusative nom. dominoni dominoni gen. dominoni genitive dominoni dominojeni dominoideni dominoitteni partitive dominoani dominojani dominoitani inessive dominossani dominoissani elative dominostani dominoistani illative dominooni dominoihini adessive dominollani dominoillani ablative dominoltani dominoiltani allative dominolleni dominoilleni essive dominonani dominoinani translative dominokseni dominoikseni abessive dominottani dominoittani instructive — — comitative — dominoineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative dominosi dominosi accusative nom. dominosi dominosi gen. dominosi genitive dominosi dominojesi dominoidesi dominoittesi partitive dominoasi dominojasi dominoitasi inessive dominossasi dominoissasi elative dominostasi dominoistasi illative dominoosi dominoihisi adessive dominollasi dominoillasi ablative dominoltasi dominoiltasi allative dominollesi dominoillesi essive dominonasi dominoinasi translative dominoksesi dominoiksesi abessive dominottasi dominoittasi instructive — — comitative — dominoinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative dominomme dominomme accusative nom. dominomme dominomme gen. dominomme genitive dominomme dominojemme dominoidemme dominoittemme partitive dominoamme dominojamme dominoitamme inessive dominossamme dominoissamme elative dominostamme dominoistamme illative dominoomme dominoihimme adessive dominollamme dominoillamme ablative dominoltamme dominoiltamme allative dominollemme dominoillemme essive dominonamme dominoinamme translative dominoksemme dominoiksemme abessive dominottamme dominoittamme instructive — — comitative — dominoinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative dominonne dominonne accusative nom. dominonne dominonne gen. dominonne genitive dominonne dominojenne dominoidenne dominoittenne partitive dominoanne dominojanne dominoitanne inessive dominossanne dominoissanne elative dominostanne dominoistanne illative dominoonne dominoihinne adessive dominollanne dominoillanne ablative dominoltanne dominoiltanne allative dominollenne dominoillenne essive dominonanne dominoinanne translative dominoksenne dominoiksenne abessive dominottanne dominoittanne instructive — — comitative — dominoinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative dominonsa dominonsa accusative nom. dominonsa dominonsa gen. dominonsa genitive dominonsa dominojensa dominoidensa dominoittensa partitive dominoaan dominoansa dominojaan dominoitaan dominojansa dominoitansa inessive dominossaan dominossansa dominoissaan dominoissansa elative dominostaan dominostansa dominoistaan dominoistansa illative dominoonsa dominoihinsa adessive dominollaan dominollansa dominoillaan dominoillansa ablative dominoltaan dominoltansa dominoiltaan dominoiltansa allative dominolleen dominollensa dominoilleen dominoillensa essive dominonaan dominonansa dominoinaan dominoinansa translative dominokseen dominoksensa dominoikseen dominoiksensa abessive dominottaan dominottansa dominoittaan dominoittansa instructive — — comitative — dominoineen dominoinensa

Derived terms

• dominoida

 

compounds

• dominoefekti
• dominoilmiö
• dominonappula
• dominopeli
• dominoteoria
• dominovaikutus

 

Further reading

• “domino”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[3] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

Anagrams

• moodin

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin dominō, from Latin dominus (“lord, master”), perhaps from a prayer formula such as "benedicamus domino". The development of the modern meaning is unclear, perhaps from the black color of the early domino tiles.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

domino m (plural dominos)

1. black hooded cloak worn by priests in winter [1401]
2. hooded garment worn at balls [1665]
   • 1941 "Suzanne ramena sur sa tête le capuchon du domino, fit un pas et déclama soudain [...]" (Georges Duhamel, Suzanne et les jeunes hommes, p. 144)
3. a paper marked with figures used to play board games [1514]
4. dominoes [1771]
5. (in the plural) a domino set
6. (in the singular) a domino tile

Derived terms

• effet domino

Descendants

• → English: domino
• → Italian: domino
• → Norwegian Bokmål: domino
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: domino
• → Polish: domino
• → Portuguese: dominó
• → Romanian: domino

Further reading

• “domino”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French domino.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /domino/

Noun

domino

1. dominoes

Italian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin dominus. Doublet of don.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɔ.mi.no/
• Rhymes: -ɔmino
• Hyphenation: dò‧mi‧no

Noun

domino m (plural domini, feminine domina)

1. (archaic) lord, master

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French domino, from Medieval Latin dominō, dative of Latin dominus (“lord, master”); possibly from the liturgical phrase benedīcāmus Dominō (literally “let us bless the Lord”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɔ.mi.no/
• Rhymes: -ɔmino
• Hyphenation: dò‧mi‧no

Noun

domino m (invariable)

1. long robe shaped as a cloak with a hood, worn at masked balls
2. (by extension) person wearing such a robe

Etymology 3

Borrowed from French domino, originally the same as Etymology 2; see above.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɔ.mi.no/
• Rhymes: -ɔmino
• Hyphenation: dò‧mi‧no

Noun

domino m (uncountable)

1. dominoes (board game)

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdo.mi.no/, /ˈdɔ.mi.no/
• Rhymes: -omino, -ɔmino
• Hyphenation: dó‧mi‧no, dò‧mi‧no

Verb

domino

1. inflection of domare:
   1. third-person plural present subjunctive
   2. third-person plural imperative

Etymology 5

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɔ.mi.no/
• Rhymes: -ɔmino
• Hyphenation: dò‧mi‧no

Verb

domino

1. first-person singular present indicative of dominare

Anagrams

• indomo

Japanese

Romanization

domino

1. Rōmaji transcription of ドミノ

Latin

Verb

dominō (present infinitive domināre, perfect active domināvī, supine dominātum); first conjugation

1. (rare) Alternative form of dominor (“rule, control”)

   Synonyms: devinco, supero, conquesto, subigo, vinco, profligo, caedo, pello, domo

Usage notes

This is a regularised active form of the deponent verb dominor, which is much more common. The consequence of this situation is that dominor can occasionally mean "I am ruled" as well as the more usual sense "I rule".

Conjugation

Conjugation of dominō (first conjugation)
indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	dominō	dominās	dominat	domināmus	dominātis	dominant
	imperfect	dominābam	dominābās	dominābat	dominābāmus	dominābātis	dominābant
	future	dominābō	dominābis	dominābit	dominābimus	dominābitis	dominābunt
	perfect	domināvī	domināvistī	domināvit	domināvimus	domināvistis	domināvērunt, domināvēre
	pluperfect	domināveram	domināverās	domināverat	domināverāmus	domināverātis	domināverant
	future perfect	domināverō	domināveris	domināverit	domināverimus	domināveritis	domināverint
passive	present	dominor	domināris, domināre	dominātur	domināmur	domināminī	dominantur
	imperfect	dominābar	dominābāris, dominābāre	dominābātur	dominābāmur	dominābāminī	dominābantur
	future	dominābor	domināberis, dominābere	dominābitur	dominābimur	dominābiminī	dominābuntur
	perfect	dominātus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	dominātus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	dominātus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	dominem	dominēs	dominet	dominēmus	dominētis	dominent
	imperfect	dominārem	dominārēs	domināret	dominārēmus	dominārētis	dominārent
	perfect	domināverim	domināverīs	domināverit	domināverīmus	domināverītis	domināverint
	pluperfect	domināvissem	domināvissēs	domināvisset	domināvissēmus	domināvissētis	domināvissent
passive	present	dominer	dominēris, dominēre	dominētur	dominēmur	dominēminī	dominentur
	imperfect	dominārer	dominārēris, dominārēre	dominārētur	dominārēmur	dominārēminī	dominārentur
	perfect	dominātus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	dominātus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	dominā	—	—	domināte	—
	future	—	dominātō	dominātō	—	dominātōte	dominantō
passive	present	—	domināre	—	—	domināminī	—
	future	—	dominātor	dominātor	—	—	dominantor
non-finite forms		active			passive
		present	perfect	future	present	perfect	future
infinitives		domināre	domināvisse	dominātūrum esse	dominārī	dominātum esse	dominātum īrī
participles		domināns	—	dominātūrus	—	dominātus	dominandus
verbal nouns		gerund				supine
		genitive	dative	accusative	ablative	accusative	ablative
		dominandī	dominandō	dominandum	dominandō	dominātum	dominātū

Noun

dominō

1. dative/ablative singular of dominus

References

• domino in Enrico Olivetti, editor (2003-2024), Dizionario Latino, Olivetti Media Communication
• “domino”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• domino in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From French domino, from Latin dominus.

Noun

domino m (definite singular dominoen, indefinite plural dominoer, definite plural dominoene)

1. dominoes (game)
2. a domino (cloak)

Derived terms

• dominobrikke

References

• “domino” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “domino_1” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “domino_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From French domino, from Latin dominus.

Noun

domino m (definite singular dominoen, indefinite plural dominoar, definite plural dominoane)

1. dominoes (game)
2. a domino (cloak)

Derived terms

• dominobrikke

References

• “domino” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

domino sense 1

domino sense 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɔˈmi.nɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -inɔ
• Syllabification: do‧mi‧no

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French domino.

Noun

domino n (related adjective dominowy)

2. (dominoes) dominoes (any of several games played by arranging domino tiles on a flat surface)

Declension

Declension of domino

	singular
nominative	domino
genitive	domina
dative	dominu
accusative	domino
instrumental	dominem
locative	dominie
vocative	domino

Noun

domino n

2. domino costume (loose hooded cloak worn with a half mask, worn especially at masquerades)

   Hypernym: płaszcz

Declension

Declension of domino

	singular	plural
nominative	domino	domina
genitive	domina	domin
dative	dominu	dominom
accusative	domino	domina
instrumental	dominem	dominami
locative	dominie	dominach
vocative	domino	domina

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

domino f

1. vocative singular of domina

Further reading

• domino in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• domino in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• domino in PWN's encyclopedia

Portuguese

Verb

domino

1. first-person singular present indicative of dominar

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French domino.

Noun

domino n (plural dominouri)

1. domino

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	domino	dominoul		dominouri	dominourile
genitive-dative	domino	dominoului		dominouri	dominourilor
vocative	dominoule			dominourilor

Spanish

Verb

domino

1. first-person singular present indicative of dominar

Swedish

Noun

domino n (uncountable)

1. dominoes; a type of game

Declension

Declension of domino

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	domino	dominos
	definite	dominot	dominots
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish dominó, from French domino, from Medieval Latin domino, oblique case of dominus (“lord, master”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog)
  • IPA^(key): /domiˈno/ [d̪o.mɪˈn̪o]
    • Rhymes: -o
  • IPA^(key): /ˈdomino/ [ˌd̪oː.mɪˈn̪o] (Latin or English influence)
    • Rhymes: -omino
• Syllabification: do‧mi‧no

Noun

dominó or dóminó (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜓᜋᜒᜈᜓ)

1. dominoes (game)
2. domino tile
3. a kind of cloak with wide sleeves, hood, and mask (worn at masquerades)
4. a small, black mask for the eyes

Derived terms

• magdomino

Related terms

• dominante
• dominasyon
• dominiko
• Dominiko
• dominyo
• Dominggo
• don
• donselya
• donya
• Linggo
• linggo
• madam
• mamsir
• mayordomo

 

Further reading

• “domino”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018