From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdemesnede‧mesne /dɪˈmeɪn/ noun [countable] DHHin the past, a very big house and all the land that belonged to it
Examples from the Corpus
demesne• It was very advantageous for Edward to have his brother in so central a position, adjacent to the Capetian demesne.• The Count of Eu holds in demesne a manor which is called Hou.• How far did the abandonment of demesne lands affect the income of the landowners?• Private chases created by tenants-in-chief since 1154 outside their own demesnes were likewise abrogated, in accordance with the provisions of the Forest Charter.• There was a thriving mill, and the fields of the demesne were wide and green, the ploughland well tended.• A different view of royal opportunism can be seen in the confirmation of charters for leading monasteries outside the demesne.• Royal charters bore witness to renewed vigour outside the demesne as in it.• The demesne plantation was now very much smaller than it had been when Alec was a boy.Origin demesne (1300-1400) Old French demeine, from Latin dominicus “of a lord” 