demesne
\ dih-MEYN, -MEEN \ ,
noun;
1.possession of land as one's own: land held in demesne .
2.an estate or part of an estate occupied and controlled by, and worked for the exclusive use of, the owner.
3.land belonging to and adjoining a manor house; estate.
4.the dominion or territory of a sovereign or state; domain.
5.a district; region.
Quotes:
As the foregoing analysis has demonstrated, the proportion between land held in demesne and land held by subtenants seems to have been relatively stable throughout the later Anglo-Saxon period and even beyond the Conquest.
-- Francesca Tinti, "Sustaining Belief ," 2010
Along with this he holds cultivable land, which is in the fullest sense (so far as feudal theory permits) his own; it is his demesne land.
-- Frederick Pollock, "The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I ," 1895
Origin:
Demesne is derived from the Middle English word demeine . It is related to the more common word domain , which also comes from the Latin word dominicus meaning "of a master."
Dictionary.com
