What does kingdom mean?
A kingdom is a state or territory governed by a king or queen. In modern political usage, the term most often refers to a sovereign state headed by a monarch, although historical kingdoms were frequently associated with dynastic rule, territorial expansion, and hereditary succession. The word also has a metaphorical sense: people speak of the kingdom of literature, the kingdom of the imagination, or a domain of knowledge, meaning a distinct realm or sphere of activity. In biological classification, a kingdom is one of the broadest divisions of living organisms, ranking above phylum and below domain; animals, plants, and fungi are familiar examples. Religious expressions such as “the kingdom of heaven” refer to the sovereign realm of God. The word is thus both a precise historical and political term and a flexible metaphor for an expansive field, world, or sphere of power.
nounA state or territory ruled by a king or queen. By extension, the word can mean a distinct realm or field of activity, and in biology it denotes the highest principal taxonomic rank.
- A state or sovereign territory ruled by a king or queen.
- A distinct realm, sphere, or field of activity.
- The highest principal rank in biological classification, above phylum and below domain.
- The sovereign realm of God or heaven, especially in religious language.
"The ancient kingdom prospered through trade and skilled craftsmanship."
"Several small kingdoms were unified under a single ruler."
"The invention of the printing press transformed the kingdom of books."
"Fungi form a kingdom separate from the plant and animal kingdoms."
The regular plural is used when referring to multiple states, territories, or metaphorical realms.
"The stories describe kingdoms where magic shaped every aspect of daily life."
It began as the ruler's domain, but today a single word can encompass an entire nation, an imaginative realm, or the kingdom of fungi.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of kingdom
The English word comes from Old English cyningdom, literally “the king's domain” or “the king's jurisdiction.” Its first element, cyning, is the ancestor of modern “king,” while the second element, dom, is related to Latin dominus and occurs in several words concerning rule, dignity, and domains. The compound was originally associated with a king's reign or territory, and its later figurative and biological uses developed from that older idea of a sphere under sovereign authority.
Related word forms
How kingdom is actually used
The political sense is standard in historical and international contexts. The figurative sense is common in literary, religious, and metaphorical expressions. In biology, the term is chiefly used when referring to broad groups such as animals, plants, fungi, and protists.
Easily confused with kingdom
A kingdom is the state or territory itself, whereas a monarchy is the system of government in which a monarch holds power.