Etymologically
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maioritas

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Forms

maiōritās f (genitive maiōritātis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin maior (“greater”) + -tās,[1][2] a derivative of the comparative of magnus (“great”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL's only ancient example is in the declamations attributed to Quintilian,[2] which Köbler dates, with a query, to the 2nd century AD;[4] there it means the greater part.[2]

Semantic evolution

The word belongs to medieval Latin.[4] Niermeyer records the senses increase, superiority, full age and the office of a mayor;[5] Du Cange adds precedence, sovereignty and gravity, as in maioritas causae, a case of greater weight.[6] Charters of Hungary and Poland use it for size, the greater part and seniority,[7][8] and the Ecclesiastical Latin sense is majority.[9]

In Renaissance Latin it means being greater, as in Lorenzo Valla.[10] French took it as majorité, the source of English majority, first “superiority”, then “full age” and finally “the greater number”.[3]

Timeline

  • 2nd century AD? – Pseudo-Quintilian uses it for the greater part.[2][4]
  • 1119 – A diploma uses it in its medieval sense.[4]
  • 1249 – A charter of the patriarch of Aquileia uses it for precedence at Mass.[6]
  • 1369 – A letter uses it for the king's sovereignty.[6]
  • 1428 – Guarino's correspondence uses it for being greater.[10]
  • 1550s – English borrows majority through French.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The greater part.[2]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Increase, augmentation.[5][6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Superiority, precedence; sovereignty.[5][6]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Full age, majority.[5][9]
  5. (Medieval Latin) The office of a mayor.[5]
  6. (Medieval Latin) Size; importance, gravity.[7][6]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e f du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  7. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
  8. ^ Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  9. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  10. ^ a b Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de