major
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom 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- enPR: mā'jə(r)
- IPA(key): /ˈmeɪ.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/
Audio (General American): (file) Audio (General Australian): (file) - Rhymes: -eɪdʒə(ɹ)
Adjective
editmajor (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
editDerived terms
edit- A-flat major
- aid-major
- A major
- A-sharp major
- Asia 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
- St Brides Major
- St Columb Major
- submajor
- supermajor
- surgeon major
Related terms
editTranslations
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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
editmajor (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
editTranslations
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Verb
editmajor (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
editRelated terms
editTranslations
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
editCatalan
editEtymology
editPronunciation
editAdjective
editmajor 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
editRelated terms
editNoun
editmajor m (plural majors)
Noun
editmajor 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
editPronunciation
editNoun
editmajor m anim (related adjective majorský)
Declension
editDerived terms
edit- majorka f
Further reading
editEstonian
editEtymology
editBorrowed from German Major, from Spanish, from Latin maior.
Noun
editmajor (genitive majori, partitive majorit)
- major (rank)
Declension
editDeclension 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
editFrench
editEtymology
editFrom Middle French major, from Spanish mayor, from Latin maior. Doublet of maire, majeur, and mayeur. The use for a non-commissioned officer in the French army (since 1972) is a short form of adjudant-major or sergent-major.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editmajor m or f (plural majors) (military)
- (France) the highest non-commissioned officer rank: sergeant major, “major”
- Coordinate terms: (other armies) adjudant-chef, adjudant-major
- (North America, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg) major (field officer rank)
- Coordinate terms: (French army) commandant, chef, (navies) capitaine de corvette
Derived terms
editFurther reading
edit- “major”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Hungarian
editEtymology
editFrom 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
editNoun
editmajor (plural majorok)
Declension
editInflection (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
editReferences
editFurther 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
editPronunciation
editAdjective
editmajor (not comparable)
Latin
editPronunciation
edit- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /ˈmai̯.i̯or/, [ˈmäi̯ːɔr]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈma.jor/, [ˈmäːjor]
Adjective
editmajor (neuter majus, positive magnus); third declension
- Alternative spelling of maior.
Inflection
editThird-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 majōrīs |
majōra | |
Ablative | majōre majōrī |
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
editEtymology
editBorrowed from German Major, from Latin māior. Doublet of mer (“mayor”).
Pronunciation
editNoun
editmajor m pers (abbreviation mjr)
- major (military rank)
Declension
editFurther reading
editPortuguese
editEtymology
editBorrowed from French major.[1] Doublet of maior.
Pronunciation
edit
- Rhymes: -ɔɾ
- Hyphenation: ma‧jor
Noun
editmajor m or f by sense (plural majores)
Noun
editmajor m (plural majores)
- (Brazil) brown-chested martin (Progne tapera)
- Synonym: andorinha-do-campo
Adjective
editmajor m or f (plural majores)
References
edit- ^ “major”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024
Further reading
edit- “major”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2024
- “major”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024
- “major”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024
- “major”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2024
Romanian
editEtymology
editBorrowed from French majeur, from Latin maior. Doublet of maior and possibly mare.
Adjective
editmajor m or n (feminine singular majoră, masculine plural majori, feminine and neuter plural majore)
- major (significant)
Declension
editSerbo-Croatian
editEtymology
editBorrowed from German Major, from Latin māior.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editmàjōr m (Cyrillic spelling ма̀јо̄р)
Declension
editSynonyms
edit- (Serbo-Croatian): bojnik
Swedish
editPronunciation
editAudio: (file)
Noun
editmajor c
- a major[1]
- a Squadron Leader[1] (in the British Royal Air Force)
Declension
editReferences
edit- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Utrikes namnbok (7th ed., 2007) →ISBN
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
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- Rhymes:English/eɪdʒə(ɹ)
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- en:Medicine
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- ca:Music
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- ca:Military ranks
- Catalan feminine nouns with no feminine ending
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- Catalan masculine and feminine nouns by sense
- Czech terms with IPA pronunciation
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- cs:Military
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- Estonian terms borrowed from German
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- et:Military ranks
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- fr:Military
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- Hungarian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Hungarian/or
- Rhymes:Hungarian/or/2 syllables
- Hungarian lemmas
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- Interlingua terms with IPA pronunciation
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- Latin non-lemma forms
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- Latin terms spelled with J
- Polish terms borrowed from German
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- Rhymes:Polish/ajɔr
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- Polish lemmas
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- pl:Military ranks
- Portuguese terms borrowed from French
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- Portuguese doublets
- Portuguese 2-syllable words
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- Rhymes:Portuguese/ɔɾ
- Rhymes:Portuguese/ɔɾ/2 syllables
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese nouns
- Portuguese countable nouns
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- pt:Military
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- Serbo-Croatian nouns
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- sh:Military
- sh:Military ranks
- Swedish terms with audio pronunciation
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish common-gender nouns
- sv:Military ranks