Old Dominion
Preserved but no longer current.
Virginia. Every Act of Parlia- ment up to the Declaration of Independence designated Virginia "the Colony and Dominion of Virginia." Captain John Smith, in his His- tory of Virginia (1629), calls this "colony and dominion" Quid Virginia, in contradistinction to New England, and other British settlements.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Old Dominion” mean?
Virginia. Every Act of Parlia- ment up to the Declaration of Independence designated Virginia "the Colony and Dominion of Virginia." Captain John Smith, in his His- tory of Virginia (1629), calls this "colony and dominion" Quid Virginia, in contradistinction to New England, and other British settlements.
Is “Old Dominion” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.