Adjacent Words

Major definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MA'JOR, a. [L.] Greater in number, quantity or extent; as the major part of the assembly; the major part of the revenue; the major part of the territory.
1. Greater in dignity.
My major vow lies here.
2. In music, an epithet applied to the modes in which the third is four semitones above the tonic or key-note, and to intervals consisting of four semitones.
Major and minor, in music, are applied to concords which differ from each other by a semitone.
Major tone, the difference between the fifth and fourth, and major semitone is the difference between the major fourth and the third. The major tone surpasses the minor by a comma.
MA'JOR, n. In military affairs, an officer next in rank above a captain, and below a lieutenant colonel; the lowest field officer.
1. The mayor of a town. [See Mayor.]
Aid-major, an officer appointed to act as major on certain occasions.
Brigade-major. [See Brigade.]
Drum-major, the first drummer in a regiment, who has authority over the other drummers.
Fife-major, the first or chief fifer.
Sergeant-major, a non-commissioned officer, subordinate to the adjutant.
MA'JOR, n. In law, a person of full age to manage his own concerns.
MAJOR, n. In logic, the first proposition of a regular syllogism, containing the principal term; as, no unholy person is qualified for happiness in heaven, [the major.] Every man in his natural state is unholy, [minor.] Therefore, no man in his natural state, is qualified for happiness in heaven, [conclusion or inference.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: of greater importance or stature or rank; "a major artist"; "a major role"; "major highways" [ant: minor]
2: greater in scope or effect; "a major contribution"; "a major improvement"; "a major break with tradition"; "a major misunderstanding" [ant: minor]
3: greater in number or size or amount; "a major portion (a majority) of the population"; "Ursa Major"; "a major portion of the winnings" [ant: minor]
4: of the field of academic study in which one concentrates or specializes; "his major field was mathematics" [ant: minor]
5: of a scale or mode; "major scales"; "the key of D major" [ant: minor]
6: of greater seriousness or danger; "a major earthquake"; "a major hurricane"; "a major illness" [ant: minor]
7: of full legal age [ant: minor, nonaged, underage]
8: of the elder of two boys with the same family name; "Jones major" n
1: a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines; below lieutenant colonel and above captain
2: British statesman who was prime minister from 1990 until 1997 (born in 1943) [syn: Major, John Major, John R. Major, John Roy Major]
3: a university student who is studying a particular field as the principal subject; "she is a linguistics major"
4: the principal field of study of a student at a university; "her major is linguistics" v
1: have as one's principal field of study; "She is majoring in linguistics"

Merriam Webster's

biographical name John 1943- British prime minister (1990-97)

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English maiour, from Latin major, comparative of magnus great, large — more at much Date: 15th century 1. greater in dignity, rank, importance, or interest <one of the major poets> 2. greater in number, quantity, or extent <the major part of his work> 3. having attained majority 4. a. notable or conspicuous in effect or scope ; considerable <a major improvement> b. prominent or significant in size, amount, or degree <earned some major cash> 5. involving grave risk ; serious <a major illness> 6. of or relating to a subject of academic study chosen as a field of specialization 7. a. having half steps between the third and fourth and the seventh and eighth degrees <major scale> b. based on a major scale <major key> c. equivalent to the distance between the keynote and another tone (except the fourth and fifth) of a major scale <major third> d. having a major third above the root <major triad> II. noun Date: 1616 1. a person who has attained majority 2. a. one that is superior in rank, importance, size, or performance <economic power of the oil majors> b. a major musical interval, scale, key, or mode 3. a commissioned officer in the army, air force, or marine corps ranking above a captain and below a lieutenant colonel 4. a. an academic subject chosen as a field of specialization b. a student specializing in such a field <a history major> 5. plural major league baseball — used with the 6. any of several high-level tournaments in professional golf III. intransitive verb Date: 1913 to pursue an academic major <majored in English>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., n., & v. --adj. 1 important, large, serious, significant (a major road; a major war; the major consideration must be their health). 2 (of an operation) serious or life-threatening. 3 Mus. a (of a scale) having intervals of a semitone between the third and fourth, and seventh and eighth degrees. b (of an interval) greater by a semitone than a minor interval (major third). c (of a key) based on a major scale, tending to produce a bright or joyful effect (D major). 4 of full age. 5 Brit. (appended to a surname, esp. in public schools) the elder of two brothers or the first to enter the school (Smith major). 6 Logic a (of a term) occurring in the predicate or conclusion of a syllogism. b (of a premiss) containing a major term. --n. 1 Mil. a an army officer next below lieutenant-colonel and above captain. b an officer in charge of a section of band instruments (drum major; pipe major). 2 a person of full age. 3 US a a student's special subject or course. b a student specializing in a specified subject (a philosophy major). 4 Logic a major term or premiss. --v.intr. (foll. by in) US study or qualify in a subject (majored in theology). Phrases and idioms: major axis the axis of a conic, passing through its foci. major-general an officer next below a lieutenant-general. major league US a league of major importance in baseball etc. major part (often foll. by of) the majority. major piece Chess a rook or queen. major planet Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune. major prophet Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, or Daniel. major suit Bridge spades or hearts. Derivatives: majorship n. Etymology: ME f. L, compar. of magnus great

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Major Ma"jor, [L. major, compar. of magnus great: cf. F. majeur. Cf. Master, Mayor, Magnitude, More, a.] 1. Greater in number, quantity, or extent; as, the major part of the assembly; the major part of the revenue; the major part of the territory. 2. Of greater dignity; more important. --Shak. 3. Of full legal age. [Obs.] 4. (Mus.) Greater by a semitone, either in interval or in difference of pitch from another tone. Major axis (Geom.), the greater axis. See Focus, n., 2. Major key (Mus.), a key in which one and two, two and three, four and five, five and six and seven, make major seconds, and three and four, and seven and eight, make minor seconds. Major offense (Law), an offense of a greater degree which contains a lesser offense, as murder and robbery include assault. Major premise (Logic), that premise of a syllogism which contains the major term. Major scale (Mus.), the natural diatonic scale, which has semitones between the third and fourth, and seventh and fourth, and seventh and eighth degrees; the scale of the major mode, of which the third is major. See Scale, and Diatonic. Major second (Mus.), a second between whose tones is a difference in pitch of a step. Major sixth (Mus.), a sixth of four steps and a half step. In major keys the third and sixth from the key tone are major. Major keys and intervals, as distinguished from minors, are more cheerful. Major term (Logic), that term of a syllogism which forms the predicate of the conclusion. Major third (Mus.), a third of two steps.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Major Ma"jor, n. [F. major. See Major, a.] 1. (Mil.) An officer next in rank above a captain and next below a lieutenant colonel; the lowest field officer. 2. (Law) A person of full age. 3. (Logic) That premise which contains the major term. It its the first proposition of a regular syllogism; as: No unholy person is qualified for happiness in heaven [the major]. Every man in his natural state is unholy [minor]. Therefore, no man in his natural state is qualified for happiness in heaven [conclusion or inference]. Note: In hypothetical syllogisms, the hypothetical premise is called the major. 4. [LL. See Major.] A mayor. [Obs.] --Bacon.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(majors, majoring, majored) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. You use major when you want to describe something that is more important, serious, or significant than other things in a group or situation. The major factor in the decision to stay or to leave was usually professional... Drug abuse has long been a major problem for the authorities there... Exercise has a major part to play in preventing and combating disease. = key, crucial ADJ: ADJ n 2. A major is an officer who is one rank above captain in the British army or the United States army, air force, or marines. ...Major Alan Bulman. N-COUNT; N-TITLE; N-VOC 3. At a university or college in the United States, a student's major is the main subject that they are studying. English majors would be asked to explore the roots of language. N-COUNT: oft poss N 4. At a university or college in the United States, if a student is, for example, a geology major, geology is the main subject they are studying. She was named the outstanding undergraduate history major at the University of Oklahoma. N-COUNT: n N 5. If a student at a university or college in the United States majors in a particular subject, that subject is the main one they study. He majored in finance at Claremont Men's College in California. VERB: V in n 6. In music, a major scale is one in which the third note is two tones higher than the first. ...Mozart's Symphony No 35 in D Major. ? minor ADJ: n ADJ, ADJ n 7. A major is a large or important company. (BUSINESS) Oil majors need not fear being unable to sell their crude. N-COUNT: oft n N 8. The majors are groups of professional sports teams that compete against each other, especially in American baseball. (mainly AM) I knew what I could do in the minor leagues, I just wanted a chance to prove myself in the majors. N-PLURAL: the N 9. A major is an important sporting competition, especially in golf or tennis. Sarazen became the first golfer to win all four majors. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Greater.

Dictionary of Ro

quarrelsome

Moby Thesaurus

ADC, CO, OD, a cut above, above, academic specialty, adult, ahead, aide, aide-de-camp, area, ascendant, better, big, big-league, big-name, big-time, bigger, biggest, bigwig, bigwigged, brigadier, brigadier general, capital, capping, captain, chicken colonel, chief, chief of staff, chosen, classical education, cock, colonel, commandant, commander, commander in chief, commanding officer, commissioned officer, company officer, consequential, considerable, core curriculum, course, course of study, critical, crucial, curriculum, dangerous, discipline, distinguished, dominant, dominating, double-barreled, earthshaking, eclipsing, elder, eldest, elective, eminent, exceeding, excellent, excelling, exec, executive officer, extensive, fell, field, field marshal, field officer, finer, first lieutenant, first-born, firstling, five-star general, foremost, former, four-star general, general, general education, general officer, general studies, generalissimo, grand, grave, great, greater, grievous, grown man, grownup, heavyweight, hefty, high-powered, higher, humanities, important, in ascendancy, in the ascendant, jemadar, junior officer, key, key signature, keynote, large, large-scale, larger, legalis homo, liberal arts, lieutenant, lieutenant colonel, lieutenant general, main, major general, major key, man, marechal, marked, marshal, material, mature man, mediant, minor, momentous, name, no chicken, notable, noteworthy, of choice, officer, older, oldest, one up on, one-star general, orderly officer, outstanding, over, paramount, pedal point, predominant, preeminent, primary, prime, primogenitary, principal, proseminar, quadrivium, rare, refresher course, risaldar, rivaling, scientific education, self-important, seminar, senior, senior officer, serious, shavetail, significant, sirdar, sizable, specialty, staff officer, star, stellar, study, subahdar, subaltern, subdiscipline, subdominant, subject, sublieutenant, submediant, substantial, subtonic, super, superior, supertonic, surpassing, technical education, the Old Man, the brass, three-star general, tonality, tonic, tonic key, top brass, topping, transcendent, transcendental, transcending, trivium, two-star general, ugly, upper, vital, woman, world-shaking, worst