▪ I. doom, n.
(duːm)
Forms: 1 dóm, 2–5 dom, 3–7 dome, 4–7 doome, (4 dum, Sc. dowme, 5 Sc. doym, 7 dombe), 4– doom.
[Com. Teut. n.: OE. dóm—OFris., OS. dóm, OHG., MHG. tuom, ON. dómr (Sw., Da. dom), Goth. dom-s:—O.Teut. *dômo-z, lit. that which is put or set up, statute, ordinance, f. dô-n to place, set: see do v. (Cf. Gr. θέµις, f. stem θη- to place, L. statūtum, f. statuĕre.) Used as suffix in the form -dom.]
1. A statute, law, enactment; gen. an ordinance, decree. Obs. exc. Hist.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter ix. 26 Bioð afirred domas ðine from onsiene his. c 1000 ælfric Exod. xxi. 1 Þis synd þa domas þe þu him tæcan scealt. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xiii. 1 Þai þat haf forgeten God and his domes. 1513 Douglas æneis i. viii. 24 The domes of law pronuncis sche to thame then. 1669 Dryden Tyrannic Love i. i, I have consulted one, who reads Heav'n's Doom. 1844 Lingard Anglo-Sax. Ch. (1858) II. xii. 220 He revised the whole code of Anglo-Saxon law, and compiled a new book of dooms. 1874 Green Short Hist. iv. §4. 191 The first Dooms of London provide especially for the recovery of cattle. |
2. A judgement or decision,
esp. one formally pronounced; a sentence; mostly in adverse sense, condemnation, sentence of punishment.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. v. (1891) 278 Seon heo beᵹen biscopes dome scyldiᵹe. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 103 Ufele ȝitsunge..macað reaflac and unrihte domes. c 1205 Lay. 4271 He sculde dom þolien. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 27 Whan ich deme domes. Þen is racio my riȝt name. 1467 Nottingham Rec. II. 380 To obey, fulfille and perfourme the dome, ordenance and award of vs. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. v. 16 Then was that golden belt by doome of all Graunted to her. 1641 Smectymnuus Answ. (1653) Post. 87 Thurstan refusing to stand to the Kings doom. 1709 Tatler No. 42 ¶5 O! Partial Judge, Thy Doom has me undone. 1808 Scott Marm. iii. Introd., Whose doom discording neighbours sought. 1888 Max Müller Nat. Relig. vii. (1889) 173 They were not laws in our sense of the word but dooms, decisions. |
† 3. Personal or private judgement, opinion.
as to my doom: in my opinion.
Obs.| a 1300 Cursor M. 4582 (Cott.) O þis ioseph sai me þi dome, And giue me þar-of god consail. c 1386 Chaucer Monk's T. Prol. 49 As to my doom Thou art a maister whan thou art at hoom. c 1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. i. 314 Ye may weel suppose in yovre owen dome. c 1450 Merlin 387 Yef he and the other ne hadde not returned..by my dom, ther hadde not ascaped the halvendell. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. x. 21 The which did seeme, unto my simple doome, The onely pleasant and delightfull place. 1624 Wotton Archit. in Reliq. (1672) 67 The Age of the work upon which he must pass his Doom. |
† b. The faculty of judging; judgement, discrimination, discernment.
Obs.| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. v. pr. ii. 152 It haþ doom by whiche it discerniþ and demiþ euery þing. 1496 Dives & Paup. (W. de W.) ii. vi. 115/1 He must haue with hym dome, that is a good and a dyscrete auysement, er he swere. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 565 With..unerring Doom, He sees what is, and was, and is to come. |
4. Fate, lot, irrevocable destiny. (Usually of adverse fate; rarely in good sense.)
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 203 Lo þy dom is þe dyȝt, for þy dedes ille! 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 235 The angyr, na the wrechyt dome, That is cowplyt to foule thyrldome. c 1400 Destr. Troy 7123 Þurgh domys of destany dreuyt to noght. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, iv. iv. 217 All vnauoyded is the doome of Destiny. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 111 And Age, and Death's inexorable Doom. 1725 Pope Odyss. iv. 289 Such, happy Nestor! was thy glorious doom. 1855 Kingsley Heroes i. (1868) 7 A stranger, whom a cruel doom has driven to your land. |
b. Final fate, destruction, ruin, death.
| c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. xiv. 14 Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and date. 1725 N. Robinson Th. Physick 244 The Patient must fall in the Conflict, and owe his Doom..to the too rigid Rashness of his Physician. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xxii. 157 Irresistible dynamic energy, which moved them [glaciers] to their doom. 1874 Green Short Hist. vi. §5. 323 Both the Cardinal and his enemies knew that the minister's doom was sealed. |
5. The action or process of judging (as in a court of law); judgement, trial.
arch.| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John xii. 31 Nu is dom middan⁓geordes. a 1200 Moral Ode 169 [167] Þe dom sal ben sone idon, ne last hit nowiht longe. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 5112 Als domesman to sit in dome. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 2194 Thai ledde hym arely fro thens to pilates dome. 1567 Satir. Poems Reform. iv. 105 Hangit syne but dome. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 817 Therefore to mee thir doom he hath assign'd. 1850 Kingsley Alt. Locke, Song 17 The Judge is set, the doom begun! |
6. The last or great Judgement at the end of the world; also, a pictorial representation of this.
arch. (Now chiefly in
phr. crack of doom.)
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 69 Þenche we ure giltes er þe dom cume. 1393 Gower Conf. I. 97 He shall for the dome finall Yef his answere. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) x. 114 The Doom schalle ben on Estre Day, suche tyme as our Lord aroos. 1529 More Dyaloge ii. Wks. 180/1, I speke of Christes..comming to the dreadfull dome. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iv. i. 117 What will the Line stretch out to' th' cracke of Doome? a 1800 Cowper Heroism 11 On a day, like that of the last doom. 1848 R. I. Wilberforce Incarn. our Lord ix. (1852) 204 When all nations shall behold Him at the crack of doom. 1874 J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Par. Churches 323 The..hobgoblins of mediæval dooms. |
7. day of doom: the day of judgement: see
day n. 8 b, and
doomsday.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 2600 Our last day þat sal falle, Our day of dome we may calle. a 1400–50 Alexander 1095 So sall to þe day of dome þi dedis be remembrid. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 302 What answere shall ye make to your lorde at y⊇ daye of dome? 1649 Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. ii. vi. 19 The great scrutiny for faith in the day of doom. 1735 Pope Donne Sat. iv. 161 In sure succession to the day of doom. 1847 Emerson Repr. Men, Swedenborg Wks. (Bohn) I. 331 Who, if a hail-storm passes over the village, thinks the day of doom is come. |
† b. transf. The last day of one's life; the fatal day.
Obs. (
Cf. 4 b.)
| 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. ii. iii. 42. 1593 ― Rich. II, iii. ii. 189. 1593 ― 3 Hen. VI, v. vi. 93 Ile throw thy body in another roome, And Triumph Henry, in thy day of Doome. |
† 8. Justice; equity; righteousness.
Cf. judgement.
Obs. (Chiefly in versions of Scripture, or allusions thereto.)
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter xcvi. 2 Hire rehtwisnis and dom ᵹerecenis seldes his. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxiii. 23 Ge forleton þa þing þe synt hefeᵹran þære æ, dom, and mildheortnysse and ᵹeleafan. 1382 Wyclif Prov. xxi. 3 To do mercy and dom, more pleseth to the Lord, than sacrifices of victorie. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶518 Thou schalt swere in trouthe, in doom, and in rightwisnesse. 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1684) I. 458/1 David in the Sauter saith; Blessed beth they that done dome and rightfulness. |
† 9. Power or authority to judge;
gen. power, authority.
Obs.| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John v. 22 Ne se fæder ne demð nanum menn. Ac he sealde ælcne dom þam suna. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 100 To haf þam at his dome. 13.. K. Alis. 2606 He sent messangers..to al that weore at his dome. 1382 Wyclif John v. 22 Neither the fader iugeth ony man, but hath ȝouun al the dom to the sone. |
† 10. A judge.
Obs. rare.
Perh. an error of transcription for
deme.
| 13.. Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 627 Þer haunted til her hous..Two domus of þat lawe. 1502 Arnolde Chron. (1811) 162 Primate and chefe dome of cristen men. |
11. attrib. (mostly
arch. or
Obs.) as
doom-giving,
doom-hall,
doom-place,
doom-storm,
doom-word, etc.;
doom-laden adj. † doom-house, a judgement-hall;
doom-ring (
Archæol.), a ring of stones forming the boundary of the old Norse courts of judgement;
† doom-settle,
† -stool, judgement-seat;
† doom-stead, place of judgement;
doom-tree, a tree on which the condemned were hanged.
| 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 329 At the *dome-ȝeuynge. |
| 1870 Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 293 Then gat he to the *doom-hall of the town..And judged the people. |
| c 1000 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 145/12 Curia, *domhus. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 126/2 Dome howse, pretorium. |
| 1938 Times 24 Mar., Mr. Gennadi Rozhdestvensky gave this *doom-laden symphony its full eloquence. |
| 1382 Wyclif Acts xxv. 10 At the *dom place of Cesar I stonde. |
| 18.. Whittier King Volmer & Elsie i, Over heathen *doom-rings and gray stones of the Horg. 1893 S. O. Addy Hall of Waltheof 33 The circle near the Bar Dike may have been a doom-ring. |
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxvii. 19 He sæt þa pilatus on his *dom-setle. a 1225 Juliana 55 Com..biuore þe reue as he set on his dom seotle. |
| 1876 Athenæum 8 July 48 That way to the *doomstead thrones The Aesir ride each day. |
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 306 Let skile sitten ase demare upon þe *dom stol. |
| 1837 Lockhart Scott ii, Elibank's *‘doomtree’ extended its broad arms close to the gates of his fortress. |
Add:
[4.] [a.] doom and gloom: see *
gloom n.1 3 b.
▪ II. doom, v. (
duːm)
Also 5–6
dome, 6
Sc. dume, 6–7
doome.
[f. doom n.] 1. trans. To pronounce judgement or sentence upon; to judge.
Obs. or
arch. exc. as in 2.
| c 1450 (MSS. c1600) Chester Pl. (E.E.T.S.) xxi. 354 The general Resurrection..when Christ is bowne to Dome both good and evill. 1502 Arnolde Chron. (1811) 29 The goodys and catels of alle hem that before hem be domed. 1533 Gau Richt Vay (1888) 15 They quhilk..Iugis or dwmis oders wranguslie. 1633 P. Fletcher Purple Isl. v. xlvi. 58 There the equall Judge..dooms each voice aright. 1813 Byron Br. Abydos ii. xxi, No deed they've done, nor deed shall do, Ere I have heard and doom'd it too. |
† b. with complement: To pronounce or deem.
| 1742 Young Nt. Th. ii. 156 Time's use was doom'd a pleasure; waste, a pain. |
2. To pronounce judgement or sentence against;
esp. to condemn
to some fate.
| 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. iii. i. 47 Tribunes with their tongues doome men to death. 1593 ― Rich. II, v. i. 4 Cæsars..Tower: To whose flint Bosome, my condemned Lord Is doom'd a Prisoner, by prowd Bullingbrooke. 1645 Milton Colast. (1851) 372 He dooms it as contrary to Truth. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 197 An act was passed which doomed him to perpetual exile. 1881 Jowett Thucyd. I. 189 A decree which doomed to destruction..a whole city. |
3. To destine or consign to some adverse fate or lot; also sometimes in neutral sense, to any fate, good or ill.
pa. pple. Destined, fated.
| 1602 Shakes. Ham. i. v. 10, I am thy Fathers Spirit, Doom'd for a certaine terme to walke the night. 1733 Pope Ess. Man iii. 65 He..feasts the animal he dooms his feast. 1776 Gibbon Decl. & F. I. xii. 255 You have doomed me to a life of cares. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. ii. 19 Our hopes were doomed to disappointment. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid i. 20 A nation..Doomed in the future ages her Tyrian towers to destroy. |
4. U.S. (
local): see
quots.| 1816 J. Pickering Voc. U.S. s.v., When a person neglects to make a return of his taxable property to the assessors of a town, those officers doom him; that is, judge upon, and fix his tax according to their discretion. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. II. ii. xliii. 133 note, In New York..if a person makes no return the assessors are instructed to ‘doom’ him according to the best of their knowledge and belief. |
5. To decree; to pronounce or fix as a sentence or fate; to destine; to adjudge. (With simple
obj. or
obj. clause.)
| 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. iv. ii. 114 The Emperour in his rage will doome her death. 1669 Dryden Tyrannic Love ii. i, The Gods adjudg'd it Parricide, By dooming the Event on Cæsar's Side. 1712–4 Pope Rape Lock ii. 110 Whether Heav'n has doom'd that Shock must fall. 1844 Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. xv. (1862) 227 Buckingham, whose fall he perceived was doomed. |
6. intr. To give judgement; to judge, decide.
Obs. or
arch.| 1591 Greene Maiden's Dreame xlii. 2 Doctors that well could doom of Holy Writ. 1662 Cokaine Ovid i. iii. Dram. Wks. (1874) 228, I shall, in my opinion, doom aright, But wish that Jove had chose some other wight. 1876 Morris Sigurd 259 They drink in the hall together, they doom in the people's strife. |
Hence
doomed ppl. a.,
ˈdooming vbl. n. and ppl. a.| 1596 Drayton Legends iv. 62 For which immedicable Blow..Me dooming Heaven ordain'd. 1627–77 Feltham Resolves i. xv. 24 A dooming to death. 1869 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) III. xii. 241 The..doomed city. |
▪ III. doom obs. f. dome,
dumb;
var. of
doum.