Daily Ancestordominus
Dominus is Latin for a master, owner or lord; before a man's name it is a title of respect, close to sir.
Dominus means master, owner or lord, and in address it works like sir. Domina is the feminine, lady or mistress. Wiktionary gives domnus as a shorter form.
Scribes often shortened it to dns with a line over the letters, as the BYU Script Tutorial shows. Before a name it is a title of respect. Do not confuse it with Domini in Anno Domini, the year of the Lord.
As seen in a recordLatin baptism register, Austria, 1790s
Patrinus: Dominus Franciscus Lessauer, judex loci
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "dominus." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/latin/dominus. Last checked 2026-10-12.