maior

See also: maiôr and măior

Galician

Etymology

From Latin māior, māiōrem.

Adjective

maior m or f (plural maiores)

1. major, greater
2. (music) major

Synonyms

• meirande

Antonyms

• (major, greater): menor
• (music): menor

Related terms

• maioría

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Latin

Alternative forms

• major
• maiior

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *magjōs, from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂yōs‎, from *meǵh₂- (“great”) + *-yōs (comparative suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈmaj.jor/, [ˈmaj.jɔr]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈmaj.jor/, [ˈmaj.jɔr]

Adjective

maior (neuter maius, positive magnus); third declension

1. greater, larger
2. older

Usage notes

• In dictionaries published before the 21st century, the root vowel can often be found marked as long, but it is in those cases indicated to be long by position rather than by nature. This convention is abolished in modern dictionaries, which give, depending on typography, maior or major without a macron. The vowel is thus properly short, as can be indicated by the variant typographic spelling măjjor.

Declension

Third-declension comparative adjective.

Number	Singular			Plural
Case / Gender	Masc./Fem.	Neuter		Masc./Fem.	Neuter
Nominative	maior	maius		maiōrēs	maiōra
Genitive	maiōris			maiōrum
Dative	maiōrī			maiōribus
Accusative	maiōrem	maius		maiōrēs	maiōra
Ablative	maiōre			maiōribus
Vocative	maior	maius		maiōrēs	maiōra

Derived terms

• maiestās
• maiusculus

Antonyms

• minor

Descendants

• Asturian: mayor
• → Breton: maer
• Catalan: major
• Dalmatian: maur
• → Dutch: meier
• → English: major
• French: major, majeur, maire, majorer
  • → English: major, majorate
  • → Portuguese: major, majorar
• Friulian: maiôr, majôr
• Galician: maior
• → German: Meier
• Istriot: maiur
• Italian: maggiore, maggiorare
• Ladin: majer
• Mozarabic: mayóre, móre
• Norman: maire
• Occitan: major, màger
• → Old Irish: maer
  • Irish: maor
• Piedmontese: magior
• Portuguese: mor, maior
• Romanian: mare (possibly)
• Sardinian: magiori
• → Scots: mair
• Sicilian: maggiuri, majuri
• Spanish: mayor, mayorar
  • → German: Major
    • → Romanian: maior
• Venetian: maxor
• → Welsh: maer

See also

• magnus

Noun

maior m (genitive maiōris); third declension

1. (in the plural) ancestors
   • Cicero, Pro Archia Poeta Oratio, line 284:

   Ergo illum, qui haec fecerat, Rudinum hominem, maiores nostri in civitatem receperunt.

   Therefore Ennius, who composed these poems, although a man from Rudiae, our ancestors granted him citizenship.

2. (Medieval Latin) a mayor: a leader of a city or town

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	maior	maiōrēs
Genitive	maiōris	maiōrum
Dative	maiōrī	maiōribus
Accusative	maiōrem	maiōrēs
Ablative	maiōre	maiōribus
Vocative	maior	maiōrēs

References

• maior in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• maior in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• maior in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the elde: maior (natu)
    
  • the majority: maior pars
    
  • (ambiguous) to exaggerate a thing: in maius ferre, in maius extollere aliquid
    
  • (ambiguous) to overestimate a thing: in maius accipere aliquid
    
  • (ambiguous) to deteriorate: a maiorum virtute desciscere, degenerare, deflectere
    
  • (ambiguous) according to the custom and tradition of my fathers: more institutoque maiorum (Mur. 1. 1)
    
  • (ambiguous) what is more important: quod maius est
    
• maior in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016
• maior in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray

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Old French

Alternative forms

• major
• majour
• majur
• maor

Etymology

Latin māior.

Adjective

maior (oblique singular, nominative singular maire)

1. bigger; larger
2. very large

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (maior)
• maiur on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub

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Portuguese

Alternative forms

• mayor (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old Portuguese maior, mayor, from Latin māior, māiōrem, from Proto-Indo-European *mag- (“great”) + *-yos (comparative suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɐj.ˈɔɾ/
• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /maj.ˈɔʁ/
• Hyphenation: mai‧or
• Rhymes: -ɔɾ

Adjective

maior (plural maiores, comparable)

1. (followed by que) comparative degree of grande; bigger, larger

   Melancias são maiores que laranjas.

   Watermelons are bigger than oranges.

   Antonym: menor

2. (preceded by a definite article) superlative degree of grande; biggest, largest

   Júpiter é o maior planeta do Sistema Solar.

   Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System.

   Antonym: menor

3. major, greater

   um desafio maior

   a major challenge

   Antonym: menor

4. (music) major

   Antonym: menor

5. (Brazil, informal) big, great

   Ele é maior idiota...

   He is a big idiot

   Synonym: mó

Derived terms

• maioria
• maiormente

Adverb

maior (comparative mais maior superlative o mais maior)

1. (Brazil, informal) very, quite

   Synonyms: bem, bastante, mó

   Essa comida comida tem um gosto maior ruim.

   That food tastes very bad.

Further reading

• “maior” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.