Wiktionary

minority

English

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Etymology

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From Middle French minorité, and its source Late Latin minōritās, from Latin minor.

Morphologically minor +‎ -ity

Pronunciation

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Noun

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minority (countable and uncountable, plural minorities)

  1. The state of being a minor; youth, the period of a person's life prior to reaching adulthood. [from 15th c.]
    • a. 1603, Francis Bacon, Discourse in the Praise of Queen Elizabeth:
      And lest any man should think her intent was to unnestle ill neighbours, and not to aid good neighbours, or that she was readier to restore what was invaded by others than to render what was in her own hands; see if the time provided not a new occasion afterwards, when through their own division, without the intermise of strangers, her forces were again sought and required; she forsook them not, prevailed so far as to be possessed of the castle of Edinburgh, the principal strength of that kingdom, with peace, incontinently, without cunctations or cavillations, the preambles of a wavering faith, she rendered with all honour and security; and his person to safe and faithful hands; and so ever after during his minority continued his principal guardian and protector.
    • 2011, Norman Davies, Vanished Kingdoms, Penguin, published 2012, page 117:
      She also played a key role as dowager-regent during the minority of her son.
    Synonym: childhood
    Antonym: adulthood
  2. Any subgroup that does not form a numerical majority. [from 18th c.]
    Most people agreed, but a sizable minority were upset by the decision.
    • 2017 August 25, "Arrest threat as Yingluck Shinawatra misses verdict", in aljazeera.com, Al Jazeera
      The case is the latest chapter in a decade-long struggle by the nation's elite minority to crush the powerful political machine founded by Yingluck's brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in another coup in 2006.
    Antonym: majority
  3. (US) A member of an ethnic minority. [from 20th c.]
    The company claims it has hired several minorities since the complaint was lodged.
  4. (sociology) A group of people seen as distinct who are subordinated and discriminated against in a society.
    • 1951 October, Helen Mayer Hacker, “Women as Minority Group”, in Howard W. Odum, Katherine Jocher, editors, Social Forces, volume 30, number 1, Williams & Wilkins, →DOI, page 63:
      But we have seen that one important difference between women and other minorities is that women's attitudes and self-conceptions are conditioned more largely by interaction with both minority and dominant group members
  5. (India, euphemistic) A Muslim.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Adjective

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minority (comparative more minority, superlative most minority)

  1. (relational, attributive) Of or relating to a minority.
    They hold a minority interest in the company.
  2. (attributive, politics, of a party, government, etc.) Empowered by or representing a minority (usually a plurality) of votes cast, legislative seats, etc., rather than an outright majority thereof.
    minority government

Translations

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See also

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Further reading

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