Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗Used in a phrasal verb: minor in.
Lesser, smaller in importance, size, degree, seriousness, or significance compared to another option, particularly · Underage, not having reached legal majority. · Not serious, not involving risk of death, permanent injury, dangerous surgery, or extended hospitalization. · Smaller by a diatonic semitone than the equivalent major interval.
A child, a person who has not reached the age of majority, consent, etc. and is legally subject to fewer responsibilities and less accountability and entitled to fewer legal rights and privileges. · A lesser person or thing, a person, group, or thing of minor rank or in the minor leagues. · Ellipsis of minor interval, minor scale, minor mode, minor key, minor chord, or minor triad. · A formally recognized secondary area of undergraduate study, requiring fewer course credits than the equivalent major.
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.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
This page abbreviates 27 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "root",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*mey- (small)"
},
"expansion": ""
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "minor"
},
"expansion": "Middle English minor"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "la",
"3": "minor",
"4": "",
"5": "lesser; young; young person"
},
"expansion": "Latin minor (“lesser; young; young person”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "nrf",
"3": "-"
},
"expansion": "Norman"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "frm",
"3": "menor"
},
"expansion": "Middle French menor"
},
{
"name": "doublet",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "minus"
},
"expansion": "Doublet of minus"
},
{
"name": ",",
"args": {},
"expansion": ","
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "la",
"2": "minimum"
},
"expansion": "Latin minimum"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "goh",
"2": "minniro"
},
"expansion": "Old High German minniro"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "kw",
"2": "minow"
},
"expansion": "Cornish minow"
}
],
"links": [
[
"minor",
"minor#Middle_English"
],
[
"menor",
"menor#Middle_English"
],
[
"menour",
"menour#English"
],
[
"minor",
"minor#Latin"
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[
"lesser",
"lesser"
],
[
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],
[
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[
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[
"menor",
"menor#Middle_French"
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[
"menour",
"menour#Middle_French"
],
[
"minus",
"minus#English"
],
[
"mini-",
"mini-#English"
],
[
"minister",
"minister#English"
],
[
"minify",
"minify#English"
],
[
"Minorca",
"Minorca#English"
],
[
"Menshevik",
"Menshevik#English"
],
[
"minnow",
"minnow#English"
],
[
"minimum",
"minimum#Latin"
],
[
"minuō",
"minuo#Latin"
],
[
"minniro",
"minniro#Old_High_German"
],
[
"minow",
"minow#Cornish"
]
],
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"Lesser, smaller in importance, size, degree, seriousness, or significance compared to another option, particularly",
"Underage, not having reached legal majority.",
"Not serious, not involving risk of death, permanent injury, dangerous surgery, or extended hospitalization.",
"Smaller by a diatonic semitone than the equivalent major interval."
],
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"A child, a person who has not reached the age of majority, consent, etc. and is legally subject to fewer responsibilities and less accountability and entitled to fewer legal rights and privileges.",
"A lesser person or thing, a person, group, or thing of minor rank or in the minor leagues.",
"Ellipsis of minor interval, minor scale, minor mode, minor key, minor chord, or minor triad.",
"A formally recognized secondary area of undergraduate study, requiring fewer course credits than the equivalent major."
],
"tags": [
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