major
English edit
Alternative forms edit
- majour (obsolete)
Etymology edit
From Middle English major, from Latin maior, comparative of magnus (“great, large; noble, important”), from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂yōs (“greater”), comparative of *meǵh₂- (“great”). Compare West Frisian majoar (“major”), Dutch majoor (“major”), French majeur. Doublet of mayor.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
major (comparative more major, superlative most major)
- (attributive):
- Greater in dignity, rank, importance, significance, or interest.
- 2013 June 13, Karen McVeigh, “US supreme court rules human genes cannot be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly[1], volume 189, number 2, page 10:
- The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.
- Greater in number, quantity, or extent.
- the major part of the assembly
- Synonym: main
- Notable or conspicuous in effect or scope.
- Synonym: considerable
- Prominent or significant in size, amount, or degree.
- to earn some major cash
- (medicine) Involving great risk, serious, life-threatening.
- to suffer from a major illness
- Greater in dignity, rank, importance, significance, or interest.
- Of full legal age, having attained majority.
- major children
- (education) Of or relating to a subject of academic study chosen as a field of specialization.
- (music):
- Having intervals of a semitone between the third and fourth, and seventh and eighth degrees. (of a scale)
- major scale
- Equivalent to that between the tonic and another note of a major scale, and greater by a semitone than the corresponding minor interval. (of an interval)
- major third
- Having a major third above the root.
- major triad
- (postpositive) (of a key) Based on a major scale, tending to produce a bright or joyful effect.
- (campanology) Bell changes rung on eight bells.
- Having intervals of a semitone between the third and fourth, and seventh and eighth degrees. (of a scale)
- (UK, dated) Indicating the elder of two brothers, appended to a surname in public schools.
- (logic)
- Occurring as the predicate in the conclusion of a categorical syllogism. (of a term)
- Containing the major term in a categorical syllogism. (of a premise)
Antonyms edit
Derived terms edit
- A-flat major
- aid-major
- A major
- A-sharp major
- B-flat major
- B major
- brigade major
- C-flat major
- C major
- C-sharp major
- D-flat major
- D major
- E-flat major
- E major
- F-flat major
- fife major
- F major
- F-sharp major
- generalmajor
- G-flat major
- G major
- G-sharp major
- in a major key
- Llantwit Major
- major appliance
- major arcana
- majorate
- major axis
- major chord
- major depressive disorder
- major diameter
- major element
- major general
- major interval
- majoritarily
- majority
- major junior
- major key
- major league
- majorly
- major mode
- major ninth
- major party
- major piece
- major planet
- major premise
- major prophet
- major scale
- major score
- major second
- major seventh
- major seventh chord
- major sixth
- major suit
- major term
- major third
- major triad
- semimajor
- sergeant major
- submajor
- supermajor
- surgeon major
Related terms edit
Translations edit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Noun edit
major (plural majors)
- (military) A rank of officer in the army and the US air force, between captain and lieutenant colonel.
- He used to be a major in the army.
- An officer in charge of a section of band instruments, used with a modifier.
- Meronyms: drum major, trumpet major
- A person of legal age.
- Antonym: minor
- (music):
- Ellipsis of major key.
- Ellipsis of major interval.
- Ellipsis of major scale.
- (campanology) A system of change-ringing using eight bells.
- A large, commercially successful company, especially a record label that is bigger than an indie.
- 1997, Dominic Pride, “U.S. success caps global impact of XL's prodigy”, in Billboard[2], volume 109, number 30, page 86:
- At the end of last year, the band re-signed to XL for another three albums, despite being chased by majors that included Island, says manager Mike Champion of Midi Management.
- (education, Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand) The principal subject or course of a student working toward a degree at a college or university.
- Midway through his second year of college, he still hadn't chosen a major.
- Synonym: (UK) course
- A student at a college or university specializing on a given area of study.
- She is a math major.
- (logic):
- Ellipsis of major term..
- Ellipsis of major premise..
- (bridge) Ellipsis of major suit..
- (Canadian football) A touchdown, or major score.
- (Australian rules football) A goal.
- (British slang, dated) An elder brother (especially at a public school).
- (entomology) A large leaf-cutter ant that acts as a soldier, defending the nest.
- (obsolete) Alternative form of mayor and mair.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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Verb edit
major (third-person singular simple present majors, present participle majoring, simple past and past participle majored)
- (intransitive) Used in a phrasal verb: major in.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
References edit
- “major”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- “major”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
Anagrams edit
Catalan edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
major m or f (masculine and feminine plural majors)
- larger (superlative: el major / la major—largest)
- older (superlative: el major / la major—oldest)
- main, principal
- (music) major
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Noun edit
major m (plural majors)
Noun edit
major m or f by sense (plural majors)
Further reading edit
- “major” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “major”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
- “major” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “major” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Czech edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
major m anim
Declension edit
Further reading edit
Estonian edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from German Major, from Spanish, from Latin maior.
Noun edit
major (genitive majori, partitive majorit)
- major (rank)
Declension edit
Declension of major (ÕS type 2/õpik, no gradation) | |||
---|---|---|---|
singular | plural | ||
nominative | major | majorid | |
accusative | nom. | ||
gen. | majori | ||
genitive | majorite | ||
partitive | majorit | majoreid | |
illative | majorisse | majoritesse majoreisse | |
inessive | majoris | majorites majoreis | |
elative | majorist | majoritest majoreist | |
allative | majorile | majoritele majoreile | |
adessive | majoril | majoritel majoreil | |
ablative | majorilt | majoritelt majoreilt | |
translative | majoriks | majoriteks majoreiks | |
terminative | majorini | majoriteni | |
essive | majorina | majoritena | |
abessive | majorita | majoriteta | |
comitative | majoriga | majoritega |
Derived terms edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Ultimately from Latin maior. Doublet of maire and majeur.
- (France): French military authorities created in 1972 the rank of major (non-commissioned officer), which can easily be confused with the rank of major (officer) used in many countries, creating problems when communicating with allied forces.
- (Canada): English major. From the British traditional army military rank structure.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
major m or f (plural majors)
- (military, France) major, the upper rank of French non-commissioned officers
- (military, Canada) major, the commissioned field officer rank
Coordinate terms edit
- capitaine de corvette (“capc”) (equivalent naval rank to the commissioned field officer rank)
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- “major”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Hungarian edit
Etymology edit
From Bavarian [Term?], compare Middle High German meier, Old High German meior, meiū̌r, standard German Meier (“administrator or leaseholder of a manor”); ultimately from Latin maior (“greater; leader”). The semantic shift from the person to the place is unclear; either via their identification, or by a clipping of a derivation like majorság, majorház, majorszoba.[1] The German equivalent terms for the place are Meierhof and Meierei (“feudal manor”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
major (plural majorok)
Declension edit
Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | major | majorok |
accusative | majort | majorokat |
dative | majornak | majoroknak |
instrumental | majorral | majorokkal |
causal-final | majorért | majorokért |
translative | majorrá | majorokká |
terminative | majorig | majorokig |
essive-formal | majorként | majorokként |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | majorban | majorokban |
superessive | majoron | majorokon |
adessive | majornál | majoroknál |
illative | majorba | majorokba |
sublative | majorra | majorokra |
allative | majorhoz | majorokhoz |
elative | majorból | majorokból |
delative | majorról | majorokról |
ablative | majortól | majoroktól |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
majoré | majoroké |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
majoréi | majorokéi |
Possessive forms of major | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
1st person sing. | majorom | majorjaim |
2nd person sing. | majorod | majorjaid |
3rd person sing. | majorja | majorjai |
1st person plural | majorunk | majorjaink |
2nd person plural | majorotok | majorjaitok |
3rd person plural | majorjuk | majorjaik |
Derived terms edit
References edit
Further reading edit
- (farm): major in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
- ([archaic] major [military rank]): major , redirecting to its synonym őrnagy in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
Interlingua edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
major (not comparable)
Latin edit
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈmai̯.i̯or/, [ˈmäi̯ːɔr]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈma.jor/, [ˈmäːjor]
Adjective edit
major (neuter majus, positive magnus); third declension
- Alternative spelling of maior.
Inflection edit
Third-declension comparative adjective.
Number | Singular | Plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case / Gender | Masc./Fem. | Neuter | Masc./Fem. | Neuter | |
Nominative | major | majus | majōrēs | majōra | |
Genitive | majōris | majōrum | |||
Dative | majōrī | majōribus | |||
Accusative | majōrem | majus | majōrēs | majōra | |
Ablative | majōre | majōribus | |||
Vocative | major | majus | majōrēs | majōra |
References edit
- “major”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- major in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
Polish edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from German Major, from Latin māior. Doublet of mer (“mayor”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
major m pers (abbreviation mjr)
- major (military rank)
Declension edit
Further reading edit
Portuguese edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from French major.[1] Doublet of maior.
Pronunciation edit
- Rhymes: -ɔɾ
- Hyphenation: ma‧jor
Noun edit
major m or f by sense (plural majores)
Noun edit
major m (plural majores)
- (Brazil) brown-chested martin (Progne tapera)
- Synonym: andorinha-do-campo
Adjective edit
major m or f (plural majores)
References edit
- ^ “major” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024.
Further reading edit
- “major” in iDicionário Aulete.
- “major” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
- “major” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024.
- “major” in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa.
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from French majeur, from Latin maior. Doublet of maior and possibly mare.
Adjective edit
major m or n (feminine singular majoră, masculine plural majori, feminine and neuter plural majore)
- major (significant)
Declension edit
Serbo-Croatian edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from German Major, from Latin māior.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
màjōr m (Cyrillic spelling ма̀јо̄р)
Declension edit
Synonyms edit
- (Serbo-Croatian): bojnik
Swedish edit
Pronunciation edit
Audio (file)
Noun edit
major c
- a major[1]
- a Squadron Leader[1] (in the British Royal Air Force)
Declension edit
Declension of major | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | major | majoren | majorer | majorerna |
Genitive | majors | majorens | majorers | majorernas |
References edit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Utrikes namnbok (7th ed., 2007) →ISBN