domestic

Definitions

From Latin domesticus (belonging to the house), built on domus (house). The base sense is "of the household"; from there it stretches to "of the home country" (treating the nation as one big house) and "tame" (an animal brought into the house).

Why It Means This

All three senses radiate from domus (house). "Of the household" is literal. "Of the home country" comes from picturing a nation as one big home — your own house versus the world outside (hence domestic vs foreign). "Tame" applies to creatures brought inside the household. One root, scaled from a single home up to a whole country.

Common Collocations

• 1.domestic violence家庭暴力
• 2.domestic flight国内航班
• 3.domestic policy国内政策
• 4.domestic animal家养动物
• 5.domestic market国内市场

Example Sentences

• 1.

  She shared the domestic chores with her partner.

• 2.

  The airline cut several domestic routes this year.

• 3.

  Cats and dogs are common domestic animals.

• 4.

  Domestic demand has slowed despite strong exports.

Easily Confused

domestic vs internal/national — All can mean "inside the country," but domestic contrasts with foreign and is the default for trade, flights, and policy (domestic market). national stresses the nation as a whole (national identity). internal is the most general "inside" (internal memo, internal bleeding) and is not used for flights or markets.