majorityn.1
/məˈdʒɒrᵻti/, U.S. /məˈdʒɑrədi/, /məˈdʒɔrədi/ I. Being greater; the greater part.† 1. The state or fact of being greater; superiority; pre-eminence. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [noun]
advantagea1393
prioritya1425
prerogativec1425
prestance1470
betterness1492
superioritya1500
majority1552
start1569
melioritya1586
precedence1587
superiorship1587
precedency1593
priory1600
preferency1602
preference1603
precession1613
betterhood1615
prestancy1615
eminence1702
superiorness1730
1552 H. Latimer Serm. SS. Simon & Jude's Day (1584) 267 Nowe abideth fayth, hope, and loue, euen these three; but the chiefe of these is loue. There be some learned men whiche expound this maioritie of which S. Paule speaketh here for diuturnitie.
1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. III. v. ii. sig. Dddd.v/1 It may be proued, that that maioritie [sc. the primacy of Rome], as they call it, hath not the original from the Sonne of God.
1597 F. Bacon Of Coulers Good & Euill f. 21, in Ess. It is not pluralitie of partes without maioritie of partes that maketh the totall greater.
1641 ‘Smectymnuus’ Answer Hvmble Remonstr. xiii. 59 This particularization of Peter did not import any singular preheminence or majority of power to Peter more then to the other apostles.
1677 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. IV iv. 280 In Eternitie there is no divisibilitie: no majoritie or minoritie.
1690 W. Leybourn Cursus mathematicus 335 Of Algebra. Symbols of Majority, > Minority, < Æquality, = [etc.].
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Character > Is the Sign of Majority, or of the Excess of one Quantity beyond another.
2. The state of being of full age. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > adult > [noun] > state of being
majority1565
maturity1569
grown-up-ness1862
1565 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 370 Quhen we ar at oure full majoritie, sall we be brocht bak to the stait of pupillis and minoris.
1579 G. Fenton tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin i. 24 At what time Phillip being risen to his maioritie might in good validitie confirme the accord past.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. A 2 b [These] being begunne in Your hopefull Infancy, are now finally accomplished in the fulnesse of Your thrice blessed Majority.
1673 Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court Test. 13 Sept. in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) To..maintain..my..bairnes..untill they com to majoritie.
1823 G. Crabb Universal Technol. Dict. Quadriennium utile,..the term of four years allowed..to a minor after his majority, during which he may by suit, or action, endeavour to annul any deal granted to his prejudice during his minority.
1867 John Bull 7 Sept. 628/2 The Majority of Mr. C. L. A...has been celebrated during the week in the good old English style at the family seat.
1892 G. R. Gillespie tr. L. von Bar Theory & Pract. Private Internat. Law 311 A Cuban of twenty-two years of age, who by the law of his own country would not attain majority till twenty-five.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 28 Sept. 5/1 The majority celebration of the pneumatic tyre promises to be the biggest trade function on record.
1939 F. M. Ford Let. 25 May (1965) 324 If it [sc. the book] did not see the light until its majority it will become almost a historical novel.
1965 Listener 1 July 10/1 It is sad that, as it approaches its majority, this organisation should have run into deep waters.
1987 J. Uglow George Eliot iv. 69 Benjamin Leigh Smith..provided for his daughter on her majority equally with her brothers.
3. † c. the majority: the dead. Chiefly in phrases to join the majority and to go (also pass over) to the majority: to die. Obsolete.
a. The greater number or part; a number which is more than half the total number, esp. of votes; spec. (in a deliberative assembly or electoral body) the group or party whose votes amount to more than half the total number, or which has the largest share of votes; the fact of having such a share. Frequently with of. Also more generally: a substantial number, a significant proportion. Usually with plural agreement. Cf. plurality n. 3, 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [noun] > greater number, majority
moeOE
unfewc1175
most?a1400
most forcea1400
substancea1413
overmatch1542
flush1592
the (great, vast) mass of1604
the millions1604
stream1614
numbers1638
the multiplicity of1639
majority1650
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a great part or proportion > the greater part, the majority
the more partOE
the best part ofOE
(the) more parta1350
(the) most parta1350
(the) most part alla1350
(the) most party1372
for (also be, in) the most part (also deal, party)a1387
the better part ofa1393
the mo?a1400
most forcea1400
substancea1413
corsec1420
generalty?c1430
the greater partc1430
three quartersc1470
generalityc1485
the most feck1488
corpse1533
most1553
nine-tenths?1556
better half1566
generality?1570
pluralityc1570
body1574
the great body (of)1588
flush1592
three fourths1600
best1601
heap1609
gross1625
lump1709
bulk1711
majority1714
nineteen in twenty1730
balance1747
sweighta1800
heft1816
chief1841
the force1842
thick end1847
1650 J. Lilburne Engagem. Vindicated 1 I..afterwards found, that my election by a majority of hands was clear, without all manner of dispute.
1691 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. 102 Measures of Right and Wrong are not always to be concluded from the consent of Majority; for you see here, that Vice has by much the Majority of its side.
1714 J. Swift Some Free Thoughts upon Present State Affairs (1741) 8 The Queen finding herself and the Majority of her Kingdom grown weary of the Avarice and Insolence..of her former Ministers.
1741 Mem. Martinus Scriblerus 44 in A. Pope Wks. II In a House of Commons all things are determin'd by a Majority.
1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. vi, in Hist. Wks. (1813) I. 413 War was chosen by a majority of voices.
1793 Blackstone's Comm. I. 181 In the house of commons the speaker never votes but when there is an equality without his casting vote, which in that case creates a majority.
1821 Ld. Byron Two Foscari i. i, in Sardanapalus 199 The majority In council were against you.
1844 Ld. Brougham Brit. Constit. vi. 84 A majority of seven to five soon after (1640) decided that the levying ship money was legal.
1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. iii. 247 The clergy commanded an actual majority in that [sc. Upper] House from their own body.
1860 J. S. Mill Consider. Represent. Govt. (1865) 16/1 At some period..almost every people, now civilized, have consisted, in majority, of slaves.
1882 Nature 24 Aug. 389/2 The majority of the coral which I [sc. Haeckel] collected..was obtained by divers.
1919 tr. L. Trotsky Hist. Russ. Revol. 146 At the Congress of the Communist Party, just as at the fourth Congress of the Soviets, those in favour of peace were in a majority.
1934 A. L. Bacharach Mus. Compan. vii. 486 The majority of his numerous piano trios belong to this early period.
1962 L. Namier Crossroads of Power v. 45 Of the country gentlemen representing shires 7 voted with the Government and 51 against: a seven to one majority for the Opposition.
1992 Economist 22 Aug. 6/3 Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost its upper-house majority three years ago.
b. With preceding adjective, as great (also vast, etc.) majority. See also absolute majority n. at absolute adj. and n. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1710 B. Hoadly Original & Inst. Civil Govt. 154 The People of the Earth, that is, a vast Majority of Mankind, are represented by Moses, as voluntarily journeying from one part of the Earth to another.
1711 J. Swift Argument abolishing Christianity in Misc. Prose & Verse 154 I shall handle it..with the utmost Deference to that great and profound Majority which is of another Sentiment.
1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. I. ii. 97 A considerable majority declared for the treaty.
1805 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. V. 194 It was determined by a great majority of all the judges..that [etc.].
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 315 In the great majority of those towns..no courtly candidate could dare to show his face.
1875 F. H. A. Scrivener 6 Lect. Text New Test. 5 Nor in the vast majority of instances does it exist.
1903 J. Conn Fulness of Time xi. 161 What supported..the claims of Holy Church did not to the great majority require proof.
1957 R. Hoggart Uses of Literacy (1959) 146 Since you share the opinions of the great majority, you are more right than the odd outsiders.
1991 Entertainm. Weekly 7 June 34/2 The technology remains virtually unknown to the vast majority of Americans.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)]
forsweltc888
sweltc888
adeadeOE
deadc950
wendeOE
i-wite971
starveOE
witea1000
forfereOE
forthfareOE
forworthc1000
to go (also depart , pass, i-wite, chare) out of this worldOE
queleOE
fallOE
to take (also nim, underfo) (the) deathOE
to shed (one's own) blood?a1100
diec1135
endc1175
farec1175
to give up the ghostc1175
letc1200
aswelta1250
leavea1250
to-sweltc1275
to-worthc1275
to yield (up) the ghost (soul, breath, life, spirit)c1290
finea1300
spilla1300
part?1316
to leese one's life-daysa1325
to nim the way of deathc1325
to tine, leave, lose the sweatc1330
flit1340
trance1340
determinec1374
disperisha1382
to go the way of all the eartha1382
to be gathered to one's fathers1382
miscarryc1387
shut1390
goa1393
to die upa1400
expirea1400
fleea1400
to pass awaya1400
to seek out of lifea1400–50
to sye hethena1400
tinea1400
trespass14..
espirec1430
to end one's days?a1439
decease1439
to go away?a1450
ungoc1450
unlivec1450
to change one's lifea1470
vade1495
depart1501
to pay one's debt to (also the debt of) naturea1513
to decease this world1515
to go over?1520
jet1530
vade1530
to go westa1532
to pick over the perch1532
galpa1535
to die the death1535
to depart to God1548
to go home1561
mort1568
inlaikc1575
shuffle1576
finish1578
to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587
relent1587
unbreathe1589
transpass1592
to lose one's breath1596
to make a die (of it)1611
to go offa1616
fail1623
to go out1635
to peak over the percha1641
exita1652
drop1654
to knock offa1657
to kick upa1658
to pay nature her due1657
ghost1666
to march off1693
to die off1697
pike1697
to drop off1699
tip (over) the perch1699
to pass (also go, be called, etc.) to one's reward1703
sink1718
vent1718
to launch into eternity1719
to join the majority1721
demise1727
to pack off1735
to slip one's cable1751
turf1763
to move off1764
to pop off the hooks1764
to hop off1797
to pass on1805
to go to glory1814
sough1816
to hand in one's accounts1817
to slip one's breatha1819
croak1819
to slip one's wind1819
stiffen1820
weed1824
buy1825
to drop short1826
to fall (a) prey (also victim, sacrifice) to1839
to get one's (also the) call1839
to drop (etc.) off the hooks1840
to unreeve one's lifeline1840
to step out1844
to cash, pass or send in one's checks1845
to hand in one's checks1845
to go off the handle1848
to go under1848
succumb1849
to turn one's toes up1851
to peg out1852
walk1858
snuff1864
to go or be up the flume1865
to pass outc1867
to cash in one's chips1870
to go (also pass over) to the majority1883
to cash in1884
to cop it1884
snuff1885
to belly up1886
perch1886
to kick the bucket1889
off1890
to knock over1892
to pass over1897
to stop one1901
to pass in1904
to hand in one's marble1911
the silver cord is loosed1911
pip1913
to cross over1915
conk1917
to check out1921
to kick off1921
to pack up1925
to step off1926
to take the ferry1928
peg1931
to meet one's Maker1933
to kiss off1935
to crease it1959
zonk1968
cark1977
to cark it1979
to take a dirt nap1981
the world > life > death > dead person or the dead > [noun]
the holy soulsc950
the deadc1000
dead1340
deadmana1400
the defunct1548
sleeper1590
gone?1614
grave-fellow1642
under-dead1648
the deceased1673
the majority1721
the departed1722
the dear departed1814
sleeper1827
goner1836
gone coon1837
silent majority1874
1721 E. Young Revenge iv. i Life is the desart, life the solitude; Death joins us to the great majority.
1764 London Mag. Nov. 581 ‘Oh, no, it is all over with me; I am going, as fast as possible, to join the majority.’—Ad plures.
1837 T. Carlyle in London & Westm. Rev. Jan. 438 This Mirabeau's work then is done... He has gone over to the majority: Abiit ad plures.
1883 Longman's Mag. Dec. 179 He had passed over to the majority..we should see his face no more.
1889 T. A. Trollope What I Remember III. 61 He, too, alas! has joined the majority.
4. The number by which the votes cast for one party, etc., exceed those for the next in rank.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > expression of choice by some approved method > [noun] > taking of votes > counting of votes > number on one side exceeding other
majority1737
plurality1832
landslide1856
qualified majority1916
1737 London Mag. Sept. 465/2 The House..examined several Witnesses touching..‘the Demand of a Scrutiny; and the manner of declaring the Majority, and other Transactions at and after the Election’.
a1743 Ld. Hervey Mem. Reign George II (1848) (modernized text) II. 253 All the lists made by the Prince's people gave him a majority of near forty.
1765 Ann. Reg. 41/1 This motion..passed in the negative by a very large majority.
1776 Ann. Reg. 1775 118*/2 The motion..was carried upon a division..by the majority of sixty.
1838 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece (new ed.) IV. xxx. 135 This motion was carried,..by a very small majority.
1879 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times II. xix. 59 A majority of forty-six was given for the resolution.
1933 V. Brittain Test. of Youth xi. 571 Mr. Harris won the election with a comfortable majority.
1983 M. FitzHerbert Man who was Greenmantle v. 87 He reduced Sir Edward Strachey's majority from 1,917 to 511.
5. Ancestry. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > ancestor > [noun] > collectively
fatherOE
forthfatherc1000
eldringsc1300
lineage13..
ancestry?a1400
fore-eldersa1400
ancestory1642
majority1646
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica iii. xvi. 146 Of evill parents, an evill generation, a posterity not unlike their majority . View more context for this quotation
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
majority dinner n.
ΚΠ
1903 Daily Chron. 17 Jan. 3/2 A majority dinner at which our hero..is entertaining the élite of London.
majority-mongering n.
ΚΠ
1891 W. S. Lilly Shibboleths 113 Party politics..are mere majority-mongering.
majority party n.
ΚΠ
1957 G. Ryle in M. Black Importance of Lang. (1962) 155 He was the leader of the majority party in Parliament.
1992 Guardian 2 Jan. 2/7 Many European countries were saddled with a ‘tiny coalition tail dragging down the majority party and imposing policies that nobody wants’.
majority vote n.
ΚΠ
1918 R. H. Knyvett ‘Over There’ with Australians 29 When the shearers want a spell I have known them declare by a majority vote that the sheep were ‘wet’.
1927 Chambers's Jrnl. 602/2 Now he had the majority vote.
1965 Wireless World Sept. 419 This is a triplicated system with a majority vote scheme for ensuring correct operation.
1991 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 11 Dec. b2/5 The decision must be approved by weighted majority vote, but does not require unanimous approval of EC members.
C2.
majority calling n. Bridge a system of bidding by which a bid at a higher level outranks one at a lower, irrespective of scoring value.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > bridge > [noun] > actions or tactics > call > bidding > systems of bidding
majority calling1927
value calling1927
Culbertson1929
Blackwood convention1937
Acol system1938
McKenney convention1939
Stayman1952
Nottingham1954
Blackwood1958
1927 Daily Express 28 June 1/7 The system of ‘majority calling’ at auction bridge, the adoption of which in this country was first advocated by the ‘Evening Standard’.
1929 Laws Contract Bridge Portland Club 6 While, at the Portland Club, ‘value calling’ is invariably played at ‘Auction’, ‘majority calling’ is being used at ‘Contract’.
1964 R. L. Frey & A. F. Truscott Official Encycl. Bridge 343/1 Majority calling, the principle by which any bid outranks any other bid at a lower level, regardless of scoring value.
majority carrier n. Electronics a charge carrier of the kind carrying the greater proportion of the electric current in a semiconducting material (i.e. an electron in n-type material, a hole in p-type material); cf. minority carrier n. at minority n. and adj. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > solid state physics > semiconductivity > [noun] > carrier of charges
carrier1939
majority carrier1951
minority carrier1951
1951 W. Shockley et al. in Physical Rev. 83 151/2 The density of minority carriers is much smaller than the density of majority carriers in each region.
1962 J. H. Simpson & R. S. Richards Physical Princ. Junction Transistors vi. 100 Using equation (1.11) with the assumption that the conductivities in emitter and base are decided practically entirely by their majority-carrier densities, we obtain γ0 = [etc.].
1987 J. Millman & A. Grabel Microelectronics (ed. 2) i. 32 In an n-type semiconductor, the electrons are called the majority carriers, and the holes are called the minority carriers.
majority leader n. U.S. Politics (within each house of Congress) an elected spokesperson and legislative strategist for the party holding the majority of seats.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > other national governing or legislative bodies > [noun] > in U.S.A. > member of
Member of Congress1774
Congressman1780
state senator1800
M.C.1832
freshman1892
majority leader1909
Minority Leader1909
congressperson1972
1909 P. Reinsch Readings on Amer. Fed. Govt. vii. 265 The attitude of the majority leaders toward the movement is brought out in the debate.
1937 Life 26 July 28/2 Franklin Roosevelt's answer was to send..a letter to Acting Majority Leader Barkley asserting that it was Congress' ‘duty’ to pass his bill.
1968 E. C. Smith & A. J. Zurcher Dict. Amer. Politics 230 The Senate majority leader controls the allocation of time and the priority of measures. The House majority leader is the principal assistant to the Speaker. Both leaders make tactical motions and lead party debate on the floor.
1992 N.Y. Times Mag. 22 Nov. 16/2 Sooner or later, there will be a confrontation between President Clinton and the Senate majority leader, George Mitchell.
majority rule n. the principle that the greater number should exercise greater power.
ΚΠ
1893 B. R. Tucker Instead of Bk. 169 Rule is evil, and..it is none the better for being majority rule.
1968 J. R. Pennock in Internat. Encycl. Social Sci. IX. 536 The term ‘majority rule’ stands for a rule of decision making within a specified group. At its simplest, the rule requires that the votes of each member shall be counted as equal to that of every other and that no vote or decision by a minority may override that of a majority. By extension, majority rule is sometimes contrasted with any rule requiring that decisions be unanimous or by any number larger than a simple majority.
1987 Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 81 1157/1 Various constitutional provisions can help overcome this generic instability of simple majority rule.
Majority Socialist n. German History a person who, after the division of the German Socialists during the 1914–18 war, acted with the larger party.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > German politics > [noun] > adherent of specific party
Majority Socialist1917
1917 N.Y. Tribune 16 Mar. 3/4 Emil Stahl, a majority Socialist, received 12,886 votes.
1923 E. A. Ross Russ. Soviet Republic 20 At this time [sc. 1918] a Soviet was formed in Berlin, to which members of even the Majority Socialists adhered.
1972 S. Delmer Weimar Germany i. 6 Ebert and his ‘Majority’ Socialists called on him [sc. Prince Max] to hand over power to them.
majority verdict n. a verdict given by more than half of a jury, but not unanimous; also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > judging > [noun] > decision of jury > types of
ignoramus1583
privy verdict1628
non liquet1656
ignoring1682
open verdict1769
sealed verdict1891
majority verdict1905
1905 Westm. Gaz. 7 Apr. 5/2 The jury..sent in to court to inquire if the parties would accept a majority verdict.
1973 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Starry Bird vi. 82 We can all go home and finish our knitting if the majority verdict prefers it.
1985 R. C. A. White Admin. of Justice ii. v. 85 Before a majority verdict can be returned, the jury must have retired for at least two hours in an attempt to come to a unanimous decision.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2000; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
majorityn.2
/məˈdʒɒrᵻti/, U.S. /məˈdʒɔrədi/, /məˈdʒɑrədi/ The rank or office of major; = majorate n., majorship n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer by rank > [noun] > major > position of
majorship1717
majority1760
majorate1822
1760 Cautions & Advices to Officers of Army 112 It will be a very great Recommendation to him should he ever become a Competitor for a Majority.
1776 in Harper's Mag. (1883) Sept. 546/2 Appointed to the Majority in the 2d Regt.
1801 Asiatic Ann. Reg. 1800 Characters 45/2 M. D'Auband had been named to a Majority in the isle of Bourbon.
1814 W. Scott Waverley II. xviii. 271 I am surprised that the Prince should have offered you a majority, when he knows very well that nothing short of lieutenant-colonel will satisfy others. View more context for this quotation
1900 Daily News 11 Sept. 5/7 He was..promoted to a half-pay majority.
1946 R. Capell Simiomata i. 38 This redoubtable sapper, risen from the ranks to a majority, is a type such as makes empires.
1985 T. Parker Soldier, Soldier viii. 86 I've been a captain for four years and I have another four to do my majority.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.11552
n.21760- property-holding
- property-loving
- property-owning
- property-woman
- propertybased
- propertyholding
- propertyless
- propertylessness
- propertylessnesses
- propertyloving
- propertyowning
- propertyship
- propertywoman
- propfan
- propfoot
- propfree front
- propgetter
- prophage
- prophages
- propham
- prophase
- prophases
- prophasic
- prophasis
- prophecies