• IPA: /duːm/

From Middle English doom, dom, from Old English dōm, from Proto-West Germanic *dōm, from Proto-Germanic *dōmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰóh₁mos.

Compare Western Frisian doem, Dutch doem, Danish -, Norwegian -, and Swedish dom, Icelandic dómur. Doublet of duma. See also deem.

doom

1. Destiny, especially terrible.
   • a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The First Book of Homer's Ilias”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC ↗, page 415 ↗:

     This, for the night; by day, the web and loom, / And homely houſhold-taſk, ſhall be her doom,

2. An undesirable fate; an impending severe occurrence or danger that seems inevitable.
3. Dread; a feeling of danger, impending danger, darkness or despair.
4. (countable, obsolete) A law.
5. (countable, obsolete) A judgment or decision.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, 2 Esdras 7:43 ↗:

     But the day of doome shall be the end of this time, and the beginning of the immortality for to come, wherein corruption is past.

6. (countable, obsolete) A sentence or penalty for illegal behaviour.
   • 1874, John Richard Green, A Short History of the English People:

     The first dooms of London provide especially the recovery of cattle belonging to the citizens.

   • 1885, W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert, Arthur Sullivan, composer, “A More Humane Mikado”, in […] The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu, London: Chappel & Co., […], →OCLC ↗, Act II, page 36 ↗:

     The billiard sharp whom anyone catches / His doom’s extremely hard— / He’s made to dwell— / In a dungeon cell / On a spot that’s always barred.

7. Death.

   They met an untimely doom when the mineshaft caved in.

8. (sometimes capitalized) The Last Judgment; or, an artistic representation thereof.

• (antonym(s) of “undesirable fate”): fortune

• deem
• -dom

• German: Bann
• Italian: sentenza
• Russian: Страшный суд

• German: Urteil, Verbannung
• Italian: sentenza, giudizio, decisione
• Russian: пригово́р

• German: Urteil, Strafe
• Italian: sentenza, penalità, condanna
• Russian: пригово́р

• French: mort
• German: Untergang, Tod
• Italian: morte
• Russian: смерть

• German: Schicksal, Verhängnis, Verderben
• Italian: sorte, fato, avversità, presagio
• Russian: рок

• French: ruine, perte
• Italian: rovina
• Russian: у́часть

• German: drohendes Unheil
• Italian: presagio
• Russian: предчу́вствие

doom (dooms, present participle dooming; simple past and past participle doomed)

1. (transitive) To pronounce judgment or sentence on; to condemn.

   a criminal doomed to death

   • 1697, Virgil, “The Sixth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC ↗:

     Absolves the just, and dooms the guilty souls.

2. To destine; to fix irrevocably the ill fate of.
   • 1856 February, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “Oliver Goldsmith”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, new edition, London: Longman, Green, Reader, & Dyer, published 1871, →OCLC ↗:

     A man of genius […] doomed to struggle with difficulties.

3. (obsolete) To judge; to estimate or determine as a judge.
   • 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC ↗:

     And while we know not that the King of heaven hath not doomed this place our safe retreat

4. (obsolete) To ordain as a penalty; hence, to mulct or fine.
   • c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act II, scene i]:

     Have I tongue to doom my brother's death?

5. (archaic, New England) To assess a tax upon, by estimate or at discretion.

• French: condamner
• German: verurteilen, verdammen
• Italian: dannare
• Portuguese: condenar
• Russian: обрека́ть
• Spanish: condenar, dañar

From doom.

• IPA: /duːm/

1. (video games) A popular first-person shooter video game, often regarded as the progenitor of the genre.

1. Alternative form of Doom