Domain Name Glossary: Learn About Domains

.com- domain for commercial businesses
.edu- domain for colleges and universities
.mil- domain reserved for US military
.net- domain originally designated for network service providers
.org- domain originally reserved for non-profit groups.
.US- country code for the United States

- A -

Account holder- A person or company responsible for a domain name.
Account number- The number issued to account holder to access the account.
Administrative Contact/Agent- Any person who is authorized to access the account other than the account holder.
Appraising- The process of determining the market value of a specific domain name.
Authentication- Verification method to obtain proof of the identity of the account holder.
Authorization- This happens when permission is required in order to access the account.

- B -

Bandwidth- The amount of data space that users have available to them when registering the domain name.

- C -

Country code- A two letter abbreviation used to distinguish a country.
Cyber squatter- A person who buys domain names, and holds them with the intent of making a profit from the selling of the domain name. Cyber squatters often buy enormous quantities or sought after domain names and try to sell them for profit.

- D -

Deactivation- Term used when a domain name is not functional on the internet.
Deletion- Term used when a domain name is taken out of the database of records. The deleted domain name goes back into the pool of available domain names.
Digital Signature- Data attached to an electronic file which is the digital equivalent of a written signature.
Domain- A division of the space which holds domain names which is indicated by the domain name.
Domain name- The name used to identify a location of a website.
Domain name disputes- A dispute over the right to register a domain name, most often when the name is similar to a registered brand or trademark
Domain name system (DNS)- The informational system used to translate domain names into IP addresses.
Domain Parking- Every time a domain name is registered, registries require the use of hosts. Most people do not have their own private servers, so many servers offer domain parking. It is a way to hold a domain name for a long period of time.

- E -

Email- The electronic way to send mail from one person to another. A message goes from the senders outbox to the recipients inbox.
Encrypted Password- Method of mixing up a password to ensure privacy for he account holder.
Encryption- A high security way of protecting personal information. Encryption scrambles information so only authorized users can read it.
Escrow- A protective measure to ensure protection to the buyer and seller when a payment is made for registration.

- F -

File Transfer Protocol- The method by which data is transferred from one computer to another. It also stores files that can be obtained when accessing from a different computer. Security measures are placed to ensure that only authorized people are allowed to access the information.
Forwarding- The process by which email is directed from one inbox to another, also known as email forwarding. This term is also used to describe traffic that is sent from one website address to another, known as URL forwarding.
Fully Qualified Host Name- The name given to the computer that hosts your domain name.

- H -

Hold Status- Term used when a domain name has not been registered by the owner. It is on hold because it is no longer in the available domain name pool.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)- The way a website is stored, in a way that the web browser can read is known as HTML language.
Host- The group of computers that establish domain names for IP addresses.

- I -

IP Address- A unique number given to represent each host and network.
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)- The organization which overlooks the internet infrastructure management parameters, which include port assignments.
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)- The non profit organization who is responsible for managing domain name systems.
Internet Service Provider (ISP)- A business that supplies internet capabilities to consumers.
Name server- The computer system that establishes domain names to IP addresses Name servers are also known as hosts.
Name Service- The service that supplies domain names to IP addresses by making the hardware, software, and information available.
NIC fee- When registering a domain name, you must pay a fee known as the NIC fee.

- P -

PGP Public Key Server- A searchable database of information used to find a the public key of an individual.
Private Key Encryption- The method in which both the sender and recipient of a message share a single key that is used to encrypt and decrypt messages.
Public Key Encryption- The method which is intended to work with private key encryption. It is a method that uses a key ring. The key ring uses both private and public keys.

- R -

Registrant- A group or individual who registers a specific domain name. They alone hold the rights to that domain for the time agreed on.
Registration- A process by which a person sets up a domain name, and pays the fees.
Registry- The unit responsible for distributing IP addresses.
Root- The top of the domain name system, known as the “dot”.
Root server- A system by which a person locates name servers that contain information for the top level domains.

- S -

Second level domain- The next level of the domain name system underneath the top level domain.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)- The protocol developed to handle confidential information such as credit card, or social security numbers. These addresses usually begin with https.
Subdomain- The individual web address built within another domain name.

- T -

Top level domain- The highest level of the domain name system which is the most often used.
Trademark- A business uses a word, phrase, image or symbol to represent themselves.

- W -

Web page- The document that contains pictures and text and is accessed by the web address.
Web site- A collaboration of many web pages within a web address.
Web host- A business that shares servers with clients. The clients are allowed to access these at any time. It usually refers to a computer that stores the files for a website. 

- Z -

Zone- The division of the domain name, which is characterized by the data, which is stored on a certain server.
Zone file- The file in which the data of the domain name is stored.

source : http://smallbusiness-domain.com