minor

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈmaɪ.nəɹ/ UK /ˈmaɪnə/ See IPA manual

Homophones

miner /ˈmaɪnə(ɹ)/

Freq #3540

Meanings

1

adj
Small or not very important.

There were only a few minor problems with the plan.
2

adj
Not serious or dangerous.

She suffered only minor injuries in the accident.
3

noun
A person who is below the legal age of an adult.

It is illegal to sell alcohol to a minor.
4

adj
Relating to a musical key or scale that often sounds sad.

The song is written in a minor key.

Thesaurus

Opposites

major

Word family

Forms minors

Derived forms minor-leagueminorateminoressminoriseminorishminoriteminorityminorizeminorlyminorshipnonminorsemi-minor

Appears in

Phrases (5)

See all

minor accident
an accident with little harm or minimal damage

Adjective + noun
minor burn
a small, superficial burn injury that does not require hospital treatment

Adjective + noun
minor crime
an illegal act considered to be of low severity

Adjective + noun
minor fault
a small or unimportant mistake or defect

Adjective + noun
minor mode
a musical key or mode based on a minor scale

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English minor, menor, menour, etc., from Latin minor (“lesser; young; young person”) both directly and via Norman and Middle French menor, menour, etc. Doublet of minus but not mini-. Cognate with minister, minify, Minorca, Menshevik, and possibly minnow. Compare Latin minimum and minuō, Old High German minniro, Cornish minow.

*mey- (small) Proto-Indo-European minor Middle English menor Middle French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Music Theory

External links

# minor

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈmaɪ.nəɹ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmaɪnə/
**Frequency rank:** 3540

## Meanings
1. Small or not very important.
2. Not serious or dangerous.
3. A person who is below the legal age of an adult.
4. Relating to a musical key or scale that often sounds sad.

## Examples
- There were only a few minor problems with the plan.
- She suffered only minor injuries in the accident.
- It is illegal to sell alcohol to a minor.
- The song is written in a minor key.

## Antonyms
- major

## Derived Forms
- minor-league
- minorate
- minoress
- minorise
- minorish
- minorite
- minority
- minorize
- minorly
- minorship
- nonminor
- semi-minor

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *mey- (small)
- Root: minor
- Root: menor

## Etymology
From Middle English minor, menor, menour, etc., from Latin minor (“lesser; young; young person”) both directly and via Norman and Middle French menor, menour, etc. Doublet of minus but not mini-. Cognate with minister, minify, Minorca, Menshevik, and possibly minnow. Compare Latin minimum and minuō, Old High German minniro, Cornish minow.

## AI Etymology
Minor comes from Middle English minor, menor, menour, etc., from Latin minor (“lesser; young; young person”) both directly and via Norman and Middle French menor, menour, etc. Doublet of minus but not mini-. Cognate with minister, minify, Minorca, Menshevik, and possibly minnow. In present-day English its meanings include small or not very important, not serious or dangerous, and a person who is below the legal age of an adult. The historical chain runs through *mey- (small) (Proto-Indo-European), minor (Middle English), minor (Latin), and menor (Middle French). Related and derived forms include minor-league, minorate, and minoress.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Music Theory

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