Definition of kingdom

The word "kingdom" has its roots in Old English and Germanic languages. The word's earliest known ancestor is the Proto-Germanic word "*kunjam," which is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*kwebh-," meaning "head" or "direct." In Old English, the word "cyningdom" or "cyngedom" referred to the royal court or authority, and later came to mean the territory or domain ruled by a king. The word was heavily influenced by the Latin "regnum," meaning "realm" or "domain," which was borrowed into Middle English as "kingdom." By the 14th century, the word "kingdom" had become a standard term in English, referring to a monarch's territories and authority. Today, the word is used to describe various types of territories, from ancient empires to modern nation-states, ruled by monarchs or other authorities.