Relating to the home or family life. It can also mean happening within one country, or describing animals that have been tamed to live with humans.
From Latin 'domesticus', meaning 'of the home, household', from 'domus' meaning 'house'. It entered English through Old French. The word kept its core sense of belonging to the home or inner sphere.
When we call an animal 'domestic', we’re saying it has been brought into our 'house'—literally into our human world. 'Domestic problems' and 'domestic policy' both contrast with what happens 'outside': foreign affairs, wild nature, or public life. The word quietly draws a line between inside and outside, private and public.
“Domestic” work and “domestic sphere” have historically been feminized, with women’s unpaid labor in the home treated as natural and less valuable than men’s paid labor. This language reinforced gendered divisions of labor and limited women’s recognized economic roles.
Use “domestic work” or “household work” without assuming it is done by women; specify roles regardless of gender. Avoid using “domestic” as a euphemism for women’s work alone.
["household","home-based","internal (for policy)"]
Women’s domestic labor has underpinned economies and social reproduction; acknowledge its economic and social value when discussing domestic spheres or policies.
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