Dom
Dom is a shortened version of the word dominant, used as a noun.
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Gender
The term Dom can be used gender-independent but unlike noun usage of Dominant, Dom normally would be used only for males. The female equivalent is Domme or Dominatrix.
Variations
People are clearly entitled to call themselves whatever they want and the term Dom or Dominant is sometimes mixed up with both Top and Master. Indeed, a Top might be dominant and a Master almost certainly is.
Role
A Dom is a partner who takes the role of giver or controller in such acts as bondage, flogging, humiliation, or servitude. Such acts are performed on a sub. Most Doms incorporate all aspects of being a Top.
The relationship between a Dom and his sub may be very transitory or can be permanent. Some Doms are married to their sub. Long term relationships are known as D/s (Dominant/submissive) relationships.
A Dom might be a sadist but is unlikely to be a masochist.
Context
For convenience, people who are "In Charge" or wielding the crop or whatever are referred to as "tops", and the person on the other end is called a "bottom". Many people enjoy being both and are said to be "switches".
Furthermore, tops in a DS context are called "doms" (short for "dominants") and bottoms in DS are "subs". It's very important to remember that not all tops are doms, and not all bottoms are subs (ie not everyone into some parts of BDSM is into the DS part.) The diagram should help make this clearer. If you need to indicate gender, there are modified terms: maledom, femdom, domme (which is a feminine form of gender neutral word dom), malesub and femsub.
