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majority

Etymology and origin of the English word majority

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1552, Latimer
Borrowed from
Middle French majorité
Ultimate origin
Latin (māior)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /məˈdʒɒr.ə.ti/, US /məˈdʒɔːr.ə.t̬i/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French majorité,[2][3] from Medieval Latin māiōritās,[3][2] from Latin māior (“greater”),[3][2] the source of major.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The state of being greater, superiority: 1552, in Latimer's Sermons;[2][4][5] this sense is now obsolete.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The state of being of full age, the age at which the law lets a young person manage his own affairs, is from 1565.[2][3][4] The greater number or part, more than half the whole, is from 1691,[2][4] especially of votes;[3] the number by which votes on one side exceed those on the other is by 1743.[3][4] The majority, “the dead”, is recorded from 1719, hence the euphemism to join the majority.[3][4] In the 17th century the word could also mean ancestry, after Latin maiōrēs “ancestors”.[4] The rank of a military major is properly a separate formation, from French majorité, from 1776.[4]

Timeline

  • 1552 – superiority.[2][4]
  • 1565 – full legal age.[2][4]
  • 1691 – the greater number or part.[2][4]
  • 1719 – the majority, the dead.[3][4]
  • 1743 – the margin of votes.[3]
  • 1776 – the rank of major.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The greater number or part; more than half of a group.
  2. The amount by which the winning side in a vote exceeds the others.
  3. The party or group with the larger number of votes or seats.
  4. The age at which a person legally becomes an adult.
  5. The rank of major in an army.

Word family

  • majoritarian
  • nonmajority
  • supermajority
  • absolute majority
  • majority leader
  • majority rule
  • simple majority
  • major
  • majesty
  • mayor
  • minority
  • maximum

Usage notes

When majority refers to a number of votes, it takes a singular verb (her majority was five votes);[6] when it refers to a group of people or things, it may take either a singular or a plural verb.[6]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Majority.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/majority. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·