majority English · revision 2677

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1552, Latimer|origins=la māior}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /məˈdʒɒr.ə.ti/, US /məˈdʒɔːr.ə.t̬i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|majorité]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[la-med|māiōritās]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|māior|t=greater]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source of [[major]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The state of being greater, superiority: 1552, in Latimer's ''Sermons'';^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) this sense is now obsolete.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==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.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The greater number or part, more than half the whole, is from 1691,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) especially of votes;^(Etymonline) the number by which votes on one side exceed those on the other is by 1743.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''The majority'', “the dead”, is recorded from 1719, hence the euphemism ''to join the majority''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In the 17th century the word could also mean ancestry, after Latin maiōrēs “ancestors”.^(OED 1989) The rank of a military [[major]] is properly a separate formation, from French majorité, from 1776.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1552 – superiority.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1565 – full legal age.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1691 – the greater number or part.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1719 – ''the majority'', the dead.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1743 – the margin of votes.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1776 – the rank of major.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The greater number or part; more than half of a group.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The amount by which the winning side in a vote exceeds the others.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The party or group with the larger number of votes or seats.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The age at which a person legally becomes an [[adult]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The rank of [[major]] in an army.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[majoritarian]]

+ * [[nonmajority]]

+ * [[supermajority]]

+ * [[absolute majority]]

+ * [[majority leader]]

+ * [[majority rule]]

+ * [[simple majority]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[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'');^(AHD) when it refers to a group of people or things, it may take either a singular or a plural verb.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}