What does domiciliary mean?
Domiciliary is a formal adjective meaning relating to the home — specifically describing services, visits, or activities that take place in a person's own residence rather than in an institution. Its dominant modern use is in health and social care: "domiciliary care" refers to professional support, from nursing to personal assistance, delivered to people in their homes so they can avoid moving into residential facilities. The word also appears in legal and financial contexts, as in a "domiciliary address" or a "domiciliary account," where it simply signals connection with someone's dwelling or place of formal residence. Derived from the Latin domus, meaning house, and ultimately related to domicile, it carries a precise, administrative tone rather than everyday warmth. It is especially common in British English, where it is established terminology across the National Health Service and local authority social care; American usage tends to favor plainer alternatives like "home-based" or "in-home." For writers, domiciliary offers precision when distinguishing genuinely home-delivered provision from institutional care.
adjectiveRelating to the home or to care, services, or visits provided in a person's own home rather than in an institution.
- (Of services such as healthcare) provided in a person's own home rather than in a hospital, clinic, or other institution.
- Relating to a person's domicile, dwelling, or place of residence (e.g. domiciliary address; domiciliary account).
"The hospital offers a domiciliary midwifery service for expectant mothers who prefer to give birth at home."
"The council funds domiciliary care so that elderly residents can remain in their own homes."
"The bank offers a domiciliary account for customers who need to receive payments in foreign currency."
In banking, a "domiciliary account" lets you hold foreign currency at home — proof that this word does far more than describe nurses' visits.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of domiciliary
Domiciliary derives from Latin domicilium, meaning a dwelling or abode, itself formed from domus ("house") combined with a suffix denoting place. The word entered English via the adjective form associated with domicile, a term long used in law to denote a person's permanent legal residence. Its cognates include domestic, which shares the same root domus, and the Romance-language descendants of domicilium such as French domicile and Spanish domicilio. In English, its use expanded most notably in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries alongside the growth of organized home-visiting medical and social services.
Related word forms
How domiciliary is actually used
Formal register. Most common in British English, especially health and social care contexts, where it is standard terminology for home-delivered services. Less frequent in everyday American English, which typically prefers "home health care" or "home-based services."
Easily confused with domiciliary
"Domestic" broadly means relating to the home, family, or one's own country, while "domiciliary" specifically describes services, visits, or activities carried out at a person's home by outside professionals.
"Residential" describes something situated or living somewhere, often an institution providing accommodation (e.g. a residential care home), whereas "domiciliary" means delivered to a person's own home instead.