maior

Etymology

From Latin māior, māiōrem.

Adjective

maior m, f (plural maiores)

1. major, greater
2. (music) major

Alternative forms

• mājor
• māiior

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

māior (neuter māius); third declension

1. greater, larger

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 receperunt.

   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

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, 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, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
• maior in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray

Alternative forms

• major
• majour
• majur
• maor

Etymology

Latin maior.

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

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