Long before the advent of internet, people were using the word ‘Domain’ but not for the purpose of naming a domain name or to refer to an internet domain name.
The Merriam-webster.com websites put the following details:
Word : Domain
Use: First Known use 15th Century
Origin:alteration of Middle English demayne, from Anglo-
French demeine, from Latin dominium, from dominus
Meanings: After the advent of Internet and success of dot com all domain names in short are named as Domain or domains. What is your Domain? Findings: 2. All advertisements for the keyword Domain are targeted toward companies selling and buying domain names and hosting services. At Merriam-Webster I noticed while reading about the word domain all ads were related to domain names and hosting and the entire text of definition on domains not mentioned that it’s internet related name. Domainer is not a dictionary word. Probably the word Domainer may have came into existence when individuals who were buying and selling Internet domain names regarded themselves as ‘Domainers’ one who deals in domain names selling and buying. Domaining too is not a dictionary word and I regard it as close to Domainer. Actually it’s widely used to refer to the domain name industry. Clubbing all three I put my view as : In the business of Domaining the Domainer buys and sells domain names.
1.complete and absolute ownership of land
2.a sphere of knowledge, influence, or activity
Someone who has a website or actively deals in domain names if asked a question.
Instead of telling the my Domain is medicine, engineering, or whatever — he/she will tell you my domains are abc.com, xyz.com, etc, etc. The word domain became synonym to domain names.
1. If you refer to a Wikipedia article on Domain it will not list the domain names but list many other choices. I think the proper way is to tell ‘Internet Domain Name/s’