different between major vs seminal

English

Alternative forms

• majour (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English major, from Latin maior, comparative of magnus (“great, large; noble, important”), from Proto-Indo-European *ma?-yes- (“greater”), comparative of *ma?-, *me?- (“great”). Compare West Frisian majoar (“major”), Dutch majoor (“major”), French majeur. Doublet of mayor.

Pronunciation

• enPR: m?'j?(r)
• IPA^(key): /?me?.d??(?)/
• Rhymes: -e?d??(?)

Adjective

major (comparative more major, superlative most major)

1. (attributive):
   1. Greater in dignity, rank, importance, significance, or interest.
   2. Greater in number, quantity, or extent.

      Synonym: main

   3. Notable or conspicuous in effect or scope.

      Synonym: considerable

   4. Prominent or significant in size, amount, or degree.

   5. (medicine) Involving great risk, serious, life-threatening.

2. Of full legal age, having attained majority.

3. (education) Of or relating to a subject of academic study chosen as a field of specialization.
4. (music):
   1. (of a scale) Having intervals of a semitone between the third and fourth, and seventh and eighth degrees.

   2. (of an interval) Equivalent to that between the tonic and another note of a major scale, and greater by a semitone than the corresponding minor interval.
      1. Having a major third above the root.

   3. (postpositive) (of a key) Based on a major scale, tending to produce a bright or joyful effect.
   4. (campanology) Bell changes rung on eight bells.
5. (Britain, dated) Indicating the elder of two brothers, appended to a surname in public schools.
6. (logic)
   1. (of a term) Occurring as the predicate in the conclusion of a categorical syllogism.
   2. (of a premise) Containing the major term in a categorical syllogism.

Antonyms

• minor

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

major (plural majors)

1. (military) A rank of officer in the army and the US air force, between captain and lieutenant colonel.
   1. An officer in charge of a section of band instruments, used with a modifier.

      Meronyms: drum major, trumpet major

2. A person of legal age.

   Antonym: minor

3. (music):
   1. Ellipsis of major key.
   2. Ellipsis of major interval.
   3. Ellipsis of major scale.
   4. (campanology) A system of change-ringing using eight bells.
4. A large, commercially successful company, especially a record label that is bigger than an indie.
5. (Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand) The principal subject or course of a student working toward a degree at a college or university.

   Synonym: (UK) course

   1. A student at a college or university specializing on a given area of study.

6. (logic):
   1. Ellipsis of major term.
   2. Ellipsis of major premise.
7. (bridge) Ellipsis of major suit.
8. (Canadian football) A touchdown, or major score.
9. (Australian rules football) A goal.
10. (British slang, dated) An elder brother (especially at a public school).
11. (entomology) A large leaf-cutter ant that acts as a soldier, defending the nest.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

major (third-person singular simple present majors, present participle majoring, simple past and past participle majored)

1. (intransitive) Used in a phrasal verb: major in.

Related terms

• majorant

Translations

References

• “major”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• “major”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary, (Please provide a date or year).

Anagrams

• Jarmo, joram

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin maior.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /m???o/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ma?d??o?/

Adjective

major (masculine and feminine plural majors)

1. larger (superlative: el major / la major—largest)
2. older (superlative: el major / la major—oldest)
3. main, principal
4. (music) major

Derived terms

• majorista
• majorment

Related terms

• majoria

Noun

major m (plural majors)

1. (military) major

Noun

major m or f (plural majors)

1. of age, adult

Further reading

• “major” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “major” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “major” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “major” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Czech

Noun

major m

1. major (military)

Declension

Further reading

• major in P?íru?ní slovník jazyka ?eského, 1935–1957
• major in Slovník spisovného jazyka ?eského, 1960–1971, 1989

Estonian

Etymology

Borrowed from German Major, from Spanish, from Latin maior.

Noun

major (genitive majori, partitive majorit)

1. major (rank)

Declension

Derived terms

• kindralmajor

French

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin maior. Doublet of maire and majeur.

• (France): French military authorities created in 1972 the rank of major (non-commissioned officer), which can easily be confused with the rank of major (officer) used in many countries, creating problems when communicating with allied forces.
• (Canada): English major. From the British traditional army military rank structure.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.???/

Noun

major m (plural majors)

1. (military, France) major, the upper rank of French non-commissioned officers
2. (military, Canada) major, the commissioned field officer rank

Derived terms

Coordinate terms

• capitaine de corvette (“capc”) (equivalent naval rank to the commissioned field officer rank)

Further reading

• “major” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Hungarian

Etymology

From German [Term?].

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?m?jor]
• Hyphenation: ma?jor
• Rhymes: -or

Noun

major (plural majorok)

1. farm

Declension

Derived terms

• majoros
• majorság

Interlingua

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma??or/

Adjective

major (not comparable)

1. (comparative degree of grande) bigger

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?mai?.i?or/, [?mäi???r]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?ma.jor/, [?m?j??r]

Adjective

major (neuter majus, positive magnus); third declension

1. Alternative spelling of maior.

Inflection

Third-declension comparative adjective.

References

• major in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• major in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ma.j?r/

Noun

major m pers (abbreviation mjr)

1. major (military rank)

Declension

Further reading

• major in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin maior. Doublet of maior

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ma.????/

Noun

major m (plural majores)

1. (military) major (military rank)

Romanian

Etymology

From French majeur.

Adjective

major m or n (feminine singular major?, masculine plural majori, feminine and neuter plural majore)

1. major

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From German Major, from Latin m?ior.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /m?jo?r/
• Hyphenation: ma?jor

Noun

màj?r m (Cyrillic spelling ???????)

1. (military, Serbo-Croatian, Serbo-Croatian) major (rank)

Declension

Synonyms

• (Serbo-Croatian): bojnik
• tisu?nik

Swedish

Pronunciation

Noun

major c

1. a major
2. a Squadron Leader (in the British Royal Air Force)

Declension

References

English

Etymology

From Middle English seminal, semynal, from Old French seminal, seminale, from Latin s?min?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s?m?n?l/
• Rhymes: -?m?n?l

Adjective

seminal (comparative more seminal, superlative most seminal)

1. Of or relating to seed or semen.
2. Creative or having the power to originate.
3. Highly influential, especially in some original way, and providing a basis for future development or research.

   Synonyms: influential, pioneering

   • 1827, Julius Hare and Augustus William Hare, Guesses at Truth

     The idea of God is, beyond all question or comparison, the one great seminal principle.

Synonyms

• (relating to seed): germinal
• (creative): innovative, primary
• (highly influential): influential, innovative, formative

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

seminal (plural seminals)

1. (obsolete) A seed.

Anagrams

• Elamins, Malines, Melians, isleman, menials, salmine

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin s?min?lis.

Adjective

seminal (masculine and feminine plural seminals)

1. seminal

Derived terms

• vesícula seminal

Further reading

• “seminal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “seminal” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “seminal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “seminal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin s?min?lis.

Adjective

seminal m or f (plural seminais, comparable)

1. (botany) seminal (relating to seeds)
2. (anatomy) seminal (relating to semen)
3. seminal; creative; inventive

   Synonyms: criativo, inventivo, fértil

4. seminal (highly influential)

Related terms

• sêmen
• semente

Further reading

• “seminal” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Romanian

Etymology

From French séminal, from Latin seminalis.

Adjective

seminal m or n (feminine singular seminal?, masculine plural seminali, feminine and neuter plural seminale)

1. seminal

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin s?min?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /semi?nal/, [se.mi?nal]
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

seminal (plural seminales)

1. (botany) seminal (relating to seeds)
2. (anatomy) seminal (relating to semen)
3. seminal; creative; inventive
4. seminal (highly influential)

Derived terms

Related terms

• semen
• semilla

Further reading

• “seminal” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.