majority

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /məˈd͡ʒɑ.ɹɪti/ UK /məˈd͡ʒɒ.ɹɪti/ See IPA manual

noun Freq #5546

Meanings

1

noun
More than half of a group of people or things.

The majority of students passed the exam on their first try.
2

noun
More than half of the votes in an election or decision.

The new law was approved by a large majority in parliament.
3

noun
The difference in votes or seats between the winner and the next candidate or party.

The ruling party held a narrow three-seat majority in the legislature.
4

noun
The age at which a person legally becomes an adult.

By the time he reached his majority, he had already started his own business.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · more than half of a group... bulk

2 noun · more than half of the votes... absolute majority

4 noun · the age at which a person... legal age

Word family

Forms majorities

Derived forms antimajorityhypermajoritymajoritarianmajoritizemajority-minoritymajorityhoodnonmajoritysubmajoritysupermajoritysupramajority

Related forms major most quantifier

Etymology

From Middle French maiorité, from Medieval Latin maiōritātem, accusative of Latin maiōritās, from Latin maior (“greater”). Morphologically major + -ity.

maiorité Middle French maiōritātem la-med maiōritās Latin maior Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Politics & International Affairs

# majority

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** məˈd͡ʒɑ.ɹɪti
**IPA (UK):** məˈd͡ʒɒ.ɹɪti
**Frequency rank:** 5546

## Meanings
1. More than half of a group of people or things.
2. More than half of the votes in an election or decision.
3. The difference in votes or seats between the winner and the next candidate or party.
4. The age at which a person legally becomes an adult.

## Examples
- The majority of students passed the exam on their first try.
- The new law was approved by a large majority in parliament.
- The ruling party held a narrow three-seat majority in the legislature.
- By the time he reached his majority, he had already started his own business.

## Derived Forms
- antimajority
- hypermajority
- majoritarian
- majoritize
- majority-minority
- majorityhood
- nonmajority
- submajority
- supermajority
- supramajority

## Related Forms
- major
- most
- quantifier

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: maiorité
- Root: maiōritātem
- Root: maiōritās
- Root: maior

## Etymology
From Middle French maiorité, from Medieval Latin maiōritātem, accusative of Latin maiōritās, from Latin maior (“greater”). Morphologically major + -ity.

## AI Etymology
Majority comes from Middle French maiorité, from Medieval Latin maiōritātem, accusative of Latin maiōritās, from Latin maior (“greater”). Morphologically major + -ity. In present-day English its meanings include more than half of a group of people or things, more than half of the votes in an election or decision, and the difference in votes or seats between the winner and the next candidate or party. The historical chain runs through maiorité (Middle French), maiōritātem (la-med), maiōritās (Latin), and maior (Latin). Related and derived forms include major, most, quantifier, and antimajority.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Politics & International Affairs

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