demesne
- n extensive landed property (especially in the country) retained by the owner for his own use
- n territory over which rule or control is exercised
- Young George Merck grew up in the pleasant country demesne of Llewellyn Park, spent his summers sailing in his father's naphtha launch on Lake Hopatcong, traveling abroad or .
- The demesne was walled, wooded, beyond our ken; the bog was rushy and treacherous, no place for children.
- Today, Purser rules as the beneficent panjandrum of a small yet stately demesne there, employing hundreds of villagers and subcontracting to thousands more throughout Java, Bali .