minor
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minor¹
- /ˈmaɪ.nəɹ/ US
- /ˈmaɪnə/ UK
Sounds like miner, mynah (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -aɪnə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
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.
adjective more minor · most minor · miner · maner · minore · minour
- Lesser, smaller in importance, size, degree, seriousness, or significance compared to another option, particularly of minor importance
- Underage, not having reached legal majority. The defendant resides at 123 Fake Street with his partner and two minor children.
- Not serious, not involving risk of death, permanent injury, dangerous surgery, or extended hospitalization. She suffered a minor injury.
- Smaller by a diatonic semitone than the equivalent major interval. The musical interval between C and E♭ is a minor third while C to E is a major third.
- Incorporating a minor third interval above the (in scales) tonic or (in chords) root note, (also figurative) tending to produce a dark, discordant, sad, or pensive effect. Beethoven's melancholy Moonlight Sonata is scored in the key of C# minor, using the diatonic scale C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, A, and B, but modulates throughout.
- Aeolian, natural minor.
- Of or related to a minor, a secondary area of undergraduate study. The minor requirements only involve about 20 hours of classes.
- Of or related to a minor, a determinate obtained by deleting one or more rows and columns from a matrix.
- Acting as the subject of the second premise of a categorical syllogism, which then also acts as the subject of its conclusion. The minor term of John Stuart Mill's famous syllogism—usually mistakenly credited to Aristotle—is Socrates; the major term is mortal.
- The younger of two pupils (or the middle of three) with the same surname. He whipt her with a foxes taile, Barnes minor,
- Of or related to the relationship between the longa and the breve in a score. The minor perfect mode was marked by one single line which crossed three spaces, and the longue was equal to three breves... The minor imperfect mode was marked by a line which crossed two spaces only, and its longue was equal only to two breves.
- Having semibreves twice as long as a minim. Josquin works in minor prolation—that is, works in which the signature indicates that a semibreve is equal to two minims, often have a 3 as a medial signature for a few measures, indicating that until the 3 is canceled by the reappearance of a sign for minor prolation, there are to be 3 minims to a
- Of or related to a minority party. ...that the Minor part of the Lords might joyn with the Major part of the House of Commons...
- Having little worth or ability; paltry; mean. And whenever Dre tore her off some money, she always split it up between his kids. She would've felt real minor taking all his cash and spending it on herself, knowing how needy his babies were.
- Including both directed and undirected edges.
Similar: insignificant and Thesaurus:small · Opposite: major, antonym(s) of
noun minors · miner · maner · minore · minour · mynor
- 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. No, he can't get a mortgage or sell the house. He's still a minor. For the most part, he can't sign a legally binding contract.
- A lesser person or thing, a person, group, or thing of minor rank or in the minor leagues. He plays in the minors.
- 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. I got a minor in English Lit.
- A person who is completing or has completed such a course of study. I became an English minor.
- A determinant of a square matrix obtained by deleting one or more rows and columns. ...the whole of a system of rth minors being zero...
- Alternative letter-case form of Minor: a Franciscan friar, a Clarist nun. He... to þe menours ordre went
- Ellipsis of minor term or minor premise And so musten oure clerkis argue whan þai aleggen for her lordeschip þe lyuynge of her patrons & sayntis, & sayen þus: "Seynt thomas & seynt hwe & seynt Swiþune wer þus lordis, & in þis þai suyd cristis lyuynge & his lore; þerfor we may lefulli be þus lordis." And I wote wel þat gabriel schal blow h
- Ellipsis of minor league (“the lower level of teams”). It is certain that the major leagues must depend upon the minors for their recruits.
- Ellipsis of minor penalty (“a penalty requiring a player to leave the ice for 2 minutes unless the opposing team scores”). Penalties... First Period... all minors.
-
Synonym of behind: a one-point kick.
Brown from a mark on the magazine wing put up the first minor.
Similar: behind
- Ellipsis of minor point (“a lesser score formerly gained by certain actions”). At half-time the score was—one goal, three tries, and four minors.
- Ellipsis of minor suit, a card of a minor suit. Many find it easier to remember 20 for Minors, 30 for Majors and 35 for No Trump.
- Any of various noctuid moths in Europe and Asia, chiefly in the Oligia and Mesoligia genera.
- A leaf-cutter worker ant intermediate in size between a minim and a media.
- Changes rung on six bells.
- An adolescent, a person above the legal age of puberty but below the age of majority.
-
Synonym of subtrahend, the amount subtracted from a number.
Similar: subtrahend
- The younger brother of a pupil. Let my minor pass, you fellows!... Here, Chudleigh, just make room there.
- Short for graph minor
verb minors · minoring · minored · miner · maner
- Used in a phrasal verb: minor in.
Minor²
proper noun Minors
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: insignificant, modest, small, small-scale, little, tiddler, nonaged, limited, venial, pardonable, junior, underage, secondary, child, youngster, nipper
adjective
Similar: insignificant and Thesaurus:small · Opposite: major, antonym(s) of
Translations
Every language
adj lesser in importance
| Español | menor |
|---|---|
| Português | menor |
| Français | mineur |
| Deutsch | gering, geringfügig, klein, unbedeutend, untergeordnet, nachgeordnet |
| Italiano | minore |
| Ελληνικά | ελάσσων elásson, ασήμαντος asímantos, ήσσων ísson |
| Русский | незначи́тельный neznačítelʹnyj, второстепе́нный vtorostepénnyj |
adj musical scale with a minor third
| Português | menor |
|---|---|
| Français | mineur |
| Deutsch | moll |
| Italiano | minore |
| Ελληνικά | ελάσσων elásson, μινόρε minóre |
| Русский | мино́рный minórnyj |
noun subject of secondary undergraduate study
| Español | minor, carrera menor (académica) |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 輔修 /辅修 fǔxiū, 副修 fùxiū, 輔系 /辅系 fǔxì |
| Deutsch | Nebenfach |
| Русский | непро́фильный предме́т neprófilʹnyj predmét |
noun someone below the legal age of majority
| Español | menor, menor de edad |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 미성년자 miseongnyeonja |
| 日本語 | 未成年者 miseinensha |
| 中文 | 未成年人 wèichéngniánrén, 未成年者 wèichéngniánzhě |
| हिन्दी | अवयस्क avayask, किशोर kiśor, नाबालिग़ nābāliġ |
| Português | menor |
| Français | mineur |
| Deutsch | Minderjähriger, Minderjährige, minderjährige Person |
| Italiano | minore |
| Русский | несовершенноле́тний nesoveršennolétnij, малоле́тний malolétnij |
| עברית | קָטִין katín, קְטִינָה k'tiná |
verb verb
| 中文 | 輔修 /辅修 fǔxiū |
|---|
Talk about this word "minor." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/minor. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. minor. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/minor "minor." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/minor.Cite this
@misc{minor_2026,
title = {minor},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/minor},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}