From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Domino \Dom"i*no\, n.; pl. {Dominos} or (esp. the pieces for a
game) {Dominoes}. [F. domino, or It. domin[`o], or Sp.
domin['o], fr. L. dominus master. The domino was orig. a hood
worn by the canons of a cathedral. See {Don}, {Dame}.]
1. A kind of hood worn by the canons of a cathedral church; a
sort of amice. --Kersey.
[1913 Webster]
2. A mourning veil formerly worn by women.
[1913 Webster]
3. A kind of mask; particularly, a half mask worn at
masquerades, to conceal the upper part of the face.
Dominos were formerly worn by ladies in traveling.
[1913 Webster]
4. A costume worn as a disguise at masquerades, consisting of
a robe with a hood adjustable at pleasure.
[1913 Webster]
5. A person wearing a domino.
[1913 Webster]
6. pl. A game played by two or more persons, with
twenty-eight pieces of wood, bone, or ivory, of a flat,
oblong shape, plain at the back, but on the face divided
by a line in the middle, and either left blank or
variously dotted after the manner of dice. The game is
played by matching the spots or the blank of an unmatched
half of a domino already played --Hoyle.
[1913 Webster]
7. One of the pieces with which the game of dominoes is
played. --Hoyle.
{fall like dominoes}. To fall sequentially, as when one
object in a line, by falling against the next object,
causes it in turn to fall, and that second object causes a
third to fall, etc.; the process can be repeated an
indefinite number of times.
Note: The phrase is derived from an entertainment using
dominoes arranged in a row, each standing on edge and
therefore easily knocked over; when the first is made
to fall against the next, it starts a sequence which
ends when all have fallen. For amusement, people have
arranged such sequences involving thousands of
dominoes, arrayed in fanciful patterns.
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
Domino
n 1: United States rhythm and blues pianist and singer and
composer (born in 1928) [syn: {Domino}, {Fats Domino},
{Antoine Domino}]
2: a loose hooded cloak worn with a half mask as part of a
masquerade costume
3: a mask covering the upper part of the face but with holes for
the eyes [syn: {domino}, {half mask}, {eye mask}]
4: a small rectangular block used in playing the game of
dominoes; the face of each block has two equal areas that can
bear 0 to 6 dots
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