Old Dominion

proper noun

Official nickname for Virginia: a state of the United States; originally the nickname given by Charles II of England to the Colony of Virginia.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. Official nickname for Virginia: a state of the United States; originally the nickname given by Charles II of England to the Colony of Virginia.First known use c. 1650

    Attracted by better soils, cheap and properly surveyed land, and easier access to markets, hundreds of thousands fled Virginia in the first half of the nineteenth century, causing the Old Dominion to cease to be the most populous state in the Union.

    2011, Colin Woodard, chapter 17, in American nations, New York: Penguin, →ISBN

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
commonwealth of virginiavirginia

Origin

Perhaps from the former designation of the colony as the Colony and Dominion of Virginia.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Old Dominion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Old%20Dominion

MLA

“Old Dominion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Old%20Dominion. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Old Dominion,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Old%20Dominion.

Source: Old Dominion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.