maior

See also: maiôr

Galician

Etymology

From Latin māior, māiōrem.

Adjective

maior m, f (plural maiores)

1. major, greater
2. (music) major

Antonyms

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

Related terms

• maioría

---

Latin

Alternative forms

• mājor
• māiior

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaj.jor/

Adjective

māior ‎(comparative of magnus)

1. greater, larger

Inflection

Third declension, comparative variant

Number	Singular			Plural
Case / Gender	Masc./Fem.	Neuter		Masc./Fem.	Neuter
nominative	māior	māius		māiōrēs	māiōra
genitive	māiōris			māiōrum
dative	māiōrī			māiōribus
accusative	māiōrem	māius		māiōrēs	māiōra
ablative	māiōre			māiōribus
vocative	māior	māius		māiōrēs	māiōra

Derived terms

• māiestās
• māiusculus

Antonyms

• minor

Descendants

• Asturian: mayor
• Catalan: major
• Dalmatian: maur
• Dutch: meier
• English: major, mayor
• French: majeur, maire
  • Portuguese: major
• Friulian: maiôr, majôr
• Galician: maior
• German: Meier
• Istriot: maiur

• Italian: maggiore
• Norman: maire
• Ladin: majer
• Occitan: major, màger
• Portuguese: mor, maior
• Romanian: maior
• Sardinian: magiori
• Sicilian: maggiuri, majuri
• Spanish: mayor
• Venetian: maxor

See also

• magnus

Noun

māior m ‎(genitive māiōris); third declension

1. ancestors (in plural)

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

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

   - Cicero: Pro Archia Poeta Oratio (Line 284)

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

Inflection

Third declension.

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	māior	māiōrēs
genitive	māiōris	māiōrum
dative	māiōrī	māiōribus
accusative	māiōrem	māiōrēs
ablative	māiōre	māiōribus
vocative	māior	māiōrēs

References

• maior in Charlton T. Lewis & 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 Félix Gaffiot (1934), Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (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

---

Old French

Alternative forms

• major
• majour
• majur
• maor

Etymology

Latin maior.

Adjective

maior ‎(oblique singular, nominative singular maire)

1. bigger; larger
2. very large

References

• (fr) 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

---

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): /mɐjˈɔɾ/
• Rhymes: -ɔɾ

Adjective

maior ‎(plural maiores, comparable)

1. major, greater
2. (music) major

Antonyms

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