In ancient Rome, the domus (plural domus, genitive domus or domi) was the type of house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy  freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It could be found in almost all the throughout the Roman territories. The modern English word domestic comes from Latin domesticus, which is derived from the word domus. The word dom in modern Slavic languages means "home" and is a cognate of the Latin word, going back to Proto-Indo-European. Along with a domus in the city, many of the richest families of ancient Rome also owned a separate country house known as a villa. Many chose to live primarily, or even exclusively, in their villas; these homes were generally much grander in scale and on larger acres of land due to more space outside the walled and fortified city.

The Documentation Centre for Music (DOMUS), at the Stellenbosch University Music Library, has its origins in the work and interests of staff and students at the Department of Music at Stellenbosch University. These include, at various times, academic staff members and Music library staff. The existence of this Centre on a more formal basis is due to the efforts of Prof. Stephanus Muller, and funding provided by the Stellenbosch University Music Department and the Vice-rector Research at Stellenbosch University. In August 2005 an archivist was appointed.