| 释义 |
minority
mi·nor·i·ty M0320000 (mə-nôr′ĭ-tē, -nŏr′-, mī-)n. pl. mi·nor·i·ties 1. a. The smaller in number of two groups forming a whole.b. A group or party having fewer than a controlling number of votes.2. a. A racial, religious, political, national, or other group thought to be different from the larger group of which it is part.b. A group having little power or representation relative to other groups within a society.c. A member of one of these groups. See Usage Note at color.3. Law The state or period of being younger than the age for legal adulthood: still in her minority.
[French minorité, from Medieval Latin minōritās, from Latin minor, smaller; see minor.]Usage Note: Socially speaking, a minority is an ethnic, racial, religious, or other group having a distinctive presence within a larger society. Some people object to this term as negative or dismissive, and it should be avoided in contexts where a group's status with regard to the majority population is irrelevant. Thus we would normally say a poem celebrating the diversity of cultures (not minorities) in America, where the emphasis is cultural as opposed to statistical or political. But in the appropriate context, as when discussing a group from a social or demographic point of view, minority is a useful term that need not be avoided as offensive. · A different problem arises when minority is used to refer to an individual rather than a group, as in the sentence As a minority, I am particularly sensitive to the need for fair hiring practices. In our 2011 survey, 58 percent of the Usage Panel found this example unacceptable. However, when the word was used in the plural without a numeral or a quantifier like many or some—as in The firm announced plans to hire more minorities and women—the Panelists were more approving, with only 25 percent judging an example such as this one unacceptable The discrepancy in these opinions can be explained by the fact that in this type of plural usage, the word is understood as referring to the members of a group taken collectively rather than as individuals.minority (maɪˈnɒrɪtɪ; mɪ-) n, pl -ties1. the smaller in number of two parts, factions, or groups2. (Sociology) a group that is different racially, politically, etc, from a larger group of which it is a part3. a. the state of being a minorb. the period during which a person is below legal age. Compare majority4. (modifier) relating to or being a minority: a minority interest; a minority opinion. [C16: from Medieval Latin minōritās, from Latin minor]mi•nor•i•ty (mɪˈnɔr ɪ ti, -ˈnɒr-, maɪ-)
n., pl. -ties,
adj. n. 1. the smaller part or number; a number, part, or amount forming less than half of the whole. 2. a smaller group opposed to a majority. 3. Also called minor′ity group`. a group differing, esp. in race, religion, or ethnic background, from the majority of a population. 4. a member of such a group. 5. the state or period of being under full legal age. adj. 6. of or pertaining to a minority. [1525–35; < Medieval Latin minōritās. See minor, -ity] minorityIf something is true of a minority of the people or things in a group, it is true of less than half of the whole group. Only a minority of cable and satellite viewers are shocked by what they see on television.You can talk about a small minority (for example 8%) or a large minority (for example 40%). Only a small minority of children get a chance to benefit from the system.The incomes of a large minority of tenants are inadequate to enable them to pay their rents.When a minority is not followed by 'of', you can use either a plural or singular form of a verb after it. The plural form is more common. Only a minority were active in pursuing their beliefs.When you use a minority of followed by a plural noun, you must use a plural form of a verb after it. Only a minority of people ever become actively engaged on any issue.Thesaurus| Noun | 1. | minority - a group of people who differ racially or politically from a larger group of which it is a partsocial group - people sharing some social relation | | 2. |  minority - being or relating to the smaller in number of two parts; "when the vote was taken they were in the minority"; "he held a minority position"number, figure - the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals; "he had a number of chores to do"; "the number of parameters is small"; "the figure was about a thousand"bulk, majority - the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part; "the majority of his customers prefer it"; "the bulk of the work is finished" | | 3. |  minority - any age prior to the legal age nonagelegal status - a status defined by laweld, age - a time of life (usually defined in years) at which some particular qualification or power arises; "she was now of school age"; "tall for his eld"legal age, majority - the age at which persons are considered competent to manage their own affairs |
minoritynounThe state or period of being under legal age:nonage.Law: infancy.Translationsminor (ˈmainə) adjective1. less, or little, in importance, size etc. Always halt when driving from a minor road on to a major road; She has to go into hospital for a minor operation. 較小的，次要的 较小的，次要的 2. (American) a secondary subject that a student chooses to study at university or college. Her major is in physics, but she has a minor in computer science. (美)副修科目 副修科目 verb (American) to study something as a minor subject. He is minoring in French. (美)副修 辅修 noun a person who is not yet legally an adult. 未成年人 未成年人miˈnority (miˈno-) , (mӕiˈno-) noun a small number; less than half. Only a minority of people live in the countryside; a racial/political minority. 少數 少数be in the minority to be in the smaller of two groups. Women were in the minority at the meeting. 居於少數 少数派minority
sexual minorityA phrase used to refer to a person whose sexual orientation is not completely heterosexual. It is typically used as an adjective (i.e. "sexual minority males"). When I worked in the counseling center, many of my patients were sexual minority teenagers.See also: minority, sexualbe in a minority of oneTo be alone in a particular interest or viewpoint. If you voted for that candidate, you're in a minority of one in our house.See also: minority, of, onebe in a/the minorityTo be in a group that is less than the majority. As the only girl in a house full of boys, I'm definitely in the minority. With those views, you'll be in the minority around these parts.See also: minoritybe in a/the miˈnority form much less than half of a large group: Men are in the minority in this profession.See also: minoritybe in a minority of ˈone (often humorous) be the only person to have a particular opinion or to vote a particular way: Hannah didn’t like the music, but she realized that she’d be in a minority of one if she said anything negative about it.See also: minority, of, oneminority
minority, in international law, population group with a characteristic culture and sense of identity occupying a subordinate political status. Religious minorities were known from ancient times, but ethnic minorities did not become an issue in European politics until the rise of nationalismnationalism,
political or social philosophy in which the welfare of the nation-state as an entity is considered paramount. Nationalism is basically a collective state of mind or consciousness in which people believe their primary duty and loyalty is to the nation-state.
..... Click the link for more information. in the 19th cent. The potential conflict arose from nationalism's equation of the nation with the identity of the dominant cultural group, with an attempt to eradicate separate identities through conformity. The minority group sought to establish its own culture as a national identity, either by incorporating with a nearby country that shared its identity or, if none existed, by seceding and forming its own nation. Before World War I, the minority problem was especially acute in the Austro-Hungarian MonarchyAustro-Hungarian Monarchy
or Dual Monarchy,
the Hapsburg empire from 1867 until its fall in 1918. The Nature of Austria-Hungary
The reorganization of Austria and Hungary was made possible by the Ausgleich
..... Click the link for more information. , the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), and Russia. During the war, each side promised autonomy or independence to minorities in enemy states, and revolts (e.g., of Arabs and Czechs) were encouraged. One of President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen PointsFourteen Points,
formulation of a peace program, presented at the end of World War I by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in an address before both houses of Congress on Jan. 8, 1918.
..... Click the link for more information. was the freeing of minorities. Hitler made adroit use of the minority issue to annex the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia and to attack Poland, thus launching World War II. After the war, Czechoslovakia and Poland took the extreme step of deporting all Germans. Communist nations have traditionally asserted that they have no such difficulties because all ethnic groups are allowed full expression; this was belied by the crucial role that was played by minority national groups in the breakup of the Soviet Union. Nowhere has the post-Communist assertion of minority rights had more dire results for minorities than in Yugoslavia, which fissured into several warring national and subnational entities. Many politically unstable African nations include disparate ethnic factions, frequently embattled because of national boundaries that were artificially drawn by European colonialists. In recent years, Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, and Sudan have been the site of severe ethnic, religious, or clan-based feuding. Pakistan was formed in 1947 for the Muslim minority of Hindu India, but the nation combined different peoples who shared only a religion. In 1971 the Bengalis of East Pakistan seceded to form the nation of Bangladesh. Since the 1960s, Northern Ireland—largely Protestant with a sizable Catholic minority—has witnessed much sectarian strife, although the late 1990s brought the hope of peace. In the United States the toleration of legal discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities came to an end after World War II. To ensure recently gained equality, the Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965) gave a special protected status to the victims of historic injustices. Affirmative actionaffirmative action,
in the United States, programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women.
..... Click the link for more information. decrees of the 1960s and 1970s mandated that race, gender, and national origin be taken into account in employment situations. African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans are ethnic minorities that are protected under affirmative action regulations. Since 1945, the United Nations has been active with respect to minority problems, especially through the Commission on Human Rights. In 1948, the United Nations approved two important documents concerning minorities: the Genocide Convention (see genocidegenocide,
in international law, the intentional and systematic destruction, wholly or in part, by a government of a national, racial, religious, or ethnic group. Although the term genocide
..... Click the link for more information. ) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Bibliography See J. Davis, Minority-Dominant Relations (1978); A. C. Hepburn, Minorities in History (1979); G. Dench, Minorities in the Open Society (1986). minority
MinorityThe state or condition of a minor; infancy. Opposite of majority. The smaller number of votes of a deliberative assembly; opposed to majority. In context of the Constitution's guarantee of Equal Protection, minority does not have merely numerical denotation but refers to identifiable and specially disadvantaged groups such as those based on race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin. minorityn. 1) in voting, a side with less than half the votes. 2) a term for people in a predominantly Caucasian country who are not Caucasian, including African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, indigenous Americans (Indians) and other people supposedly "of color," despite the irony that the majority of the world's population is not Caucasian. Sometimes the term is employed to include women and homosexuals. "Minority" carries with it a certain patronizing tone even when used to assert rights of peoples who have been discriminated against, either socially or by law. 3) The period of life under legal age. (See: majority, minor, legal age) minority a person not an adult of full capacity. See INFANT, PUPIL.MINORITY. The state or condition of a minor; infancy. In another sense, it signifies the lesser number of votes of a deliberative assembly; opposed to majority. (q.v.) FinancialSeeminorAcronymsSeeMINminority
Synonyms for minoritynoun the state or period of being under legal ageSynonymsSynonyms for minoritynoun a group of people who differ racially or politically from a larger group of which it is a partRelated Wordsnoun being or relating to the smaller in number of two partsRelated WordsAntonymsnoun any age prior to the legal ageSynonymsRelated WordsAntonyms |