579: -Dom Jul 9, 2016

Although words and suffixes can change meaning over time, the general sense usually remains. The suffix '-dom' such as in 'kingdom' comes from the Old English meaning 'decree', but in the word 'fandom', it just denotes a relative domain. Of course, plenty of words are related as well. The Spanish and Italian title, 'Don' and more closely related, the Portuguese 'Dom' all come from the Latin, 'dominus' meaning 'master'. From here we get 'domain and perhaps 'domicile' as well. 'Fandom' is not, in this way, a product of only the root, and the suffix '-dom', but a product of all these ideas that are related from the vernaculars of different languages.