domino

Latin dominus meant lord, master, or owner — the head of a household. In medieval Latin, the Domino was a prayer phrase (Kyrie Eleison's Latin equivalent), and dominus appeared in the names of religious orders. Old French domino named a hooded black cloak with a white lining worn at masquerade balls — perhaps because it resembled a Dominican friar's habit, or because the hood recalled the hood of a domino (lord's) cloak.

The domino tile — made of bone or ivory with black pip markings — resembled the domino garment: dark with white spots. The game appears in China in the 13th century in a form believed to derive from dice. European dominoes appear in Italian records from the 18th century, possibly introduced by Italian missionaries returning from China or developed independently from dice games.

Domino theory in geopolitics — the idea that if one country falls to communism, neighboring countries will follow like falling domino tiles — was articulated by President Eisenhower in 1954. The metaphor of the domino chain reaction shaped American foreign policy in Southeast Asia for a generation, justifying involvement in Vietnam. The domino effect has since become a general metaphor for cascading consequences.

The domino as a mask at a masquerade and the domino as a game tile share their etymology through concealment and black-and-white contrast. The lord of the household lent his Latin name to a disguise and a game — both activities of calculated concealment.