Property owned freely; land held for the lord's own use rather than let or leased. This land would have been worked for the lord by his serfs, occupying between a fifth and a third of the land available. It was likely that this *manor was the *caput honoris. Held by a lord of the manor, such property could be passed on to descendants. It is another way of spelling *domain. [< Lat. dominus = lord] -
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.