major English · revision 3649

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300|origins=ine-pro *meg-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈmeɪ.dʒə/, US /ˈmeɪ.dʒɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|maiour]] (also [[m|enm|majour]]), [[bor|la|māior|t=greater]], the irregular comparative of [[m|la|magnus|t=great, large]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[ine-pro|*meg-|t=great]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) The Shorter Oxford adds that French [[m|fr|majeur]] may have been an influence.^(SOED 2002) The military noun is from French [[m|fr|major]], short for [[m|fr|sergent-major]], from Medieval Latin [[m|la-med|major|t=chief officer]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It is a [[doublet]] of [[mayor]],^(Barnhart 1988) and related to [[majesty]] and [[majority]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Great, greater: probably before 1300, first in names such as ''Inde maiour'', “Greater India”.^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline gives about 1300, “more important, principal”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The ''major'' premise in logic is from 1530.^(HTOED)^(MWU 2024) The sense “greater in number or extent” is from the 1590s,^(Etymonline) and the musical sense from 1694.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The army rank is recorded from 1579 by Barnhart^(Barnhart 1988) but only from the 1640s by Etymonline,^(Etymonline) borrowed from French, where the ''sergent-major'' was then a much higher rank than now.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) A person of full legal age was a ''major'' from 1615 to 1836.^(HTOED) In American colleges the main subject of study was a ''major'' by 1890, and the verb ''major in'' followed in 1910^(Etymonline) or 1913.^(MW Collegiate) Old-fashioned schools still call the elder of two brothers ''Smith major''.^(Cresswell 2021) The sense “serious, very great”, as in ''a major mess'', dates from the 1940s.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – greater (''Inde maiour'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530 – the major premise.^(HTOED)

+ * 1579 – an army rank.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1590s – greater in number.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1694 – in music.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1890 – a main subject of study.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1910 – verb, ''major in''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1940s – serious.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Greater in importance or rank; principal.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Great in scope, size or effect.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Serious; requiring great attention.^(AHD)^(Cresswell 2021)

+ # ''(music)'' Of a [[scale]], key or chord with a major third above the root.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(US)'' Of a student's main field of study.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A military officer ranking above a [[captain]] and below a [[lieutenant colonel]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(US)'' A student's main field of study, or a student specializing in it.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A person of full legal age.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(US, with in)'' To study as one's main subject.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[majorly]]

+ * [[majority]]

+ * [[majordomo]]

+ * [[majorette]]

+ * [[major depressive disorder]]

+ * [[major piece]]

+ * [[major general]]

+ * [[major league]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vis major]]

+ * [[mayor]]

+ * [[majesty]]

+ * [[magnitude]]

+ * [[minor]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}