minority

mi·nor·i·ty

 (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.

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[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.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

minority

(maɪˈnɒrɪtɪ; mɪ-)

n, pl -ties

1. the smaller in number of two parts, factions, or groups

2. (Sociology) a group that is different racially, politically, etc, from a larger group of which it is a part

3.

a. the state of being a minor

b. the period during which a person is below legal age. Compare majority

4. (modifier) relating to or being a minority: a minority interest; a minority opinion.

[C16: from Medieval Latin minōritās, from Latin minor]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

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]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

minority

If 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.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	minority - a group of people who differ racially or politically from a larger group of which it is a part social 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   nonage legal status - a status defined by law eld, 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

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

minority

noun

The state or period of being under legal age:

nonage.

Law: infancy.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

أقَلِيَّةٌأقَليَّه

menšina

minoritet

MinderheitMinderzahlUnterzahl

μειονότηταμειοψηφία

minoría

vähemmistö

minoritéminoritaire

manjina

kisebbség

minnihluti; minnihlutahópur

minoranzaetà minore

少数派

소수

minderheid

minoritetmindretall

mniejszość

minoria

меньшинство

menšina

manjšina

minoritet

คนกลุ่มน้อย

azınlık

thiểu số

少数

minority

[maɪˈnɒrɪtɪ]

A. N

1. (= small number) → minoría f
only a small minority of children contract the disease → sólo una pequeña minoría de niños contraen la enfermedad
to be in a or the minority → ser minoría, estar en minoría
you're in a minority of one, there! (hum) → ¡te has quedado más sólo que la una!

2. (= community) → minoría f
ethnic minority → minoría f étnica

3. (Jur) (= age) → minoría f de edad

B. ADJ

1. [group, interest, view, government] → minoritario
minority language → lengua f minoritaria
minority rights (Pol) → derechos mpl de las minorías

2. (Fin) minority interest; minority stake → participación f minoritaria
minority shareholder → accionista mf minoritario
minority shareholding → accionado m minoritario

3. (US) (Pol) Minority Leader → líder mf de la oposición
House Minority Leader → líder mf de la oposición del Congreso
Senate Minority Leader → líder mf de la oposición del Senado

MINORITY

Singular or plural verb?
When minoría is the subject of a verb, the verb can be in the singular or the plural, depending on the context:

• Put the verb in the singular if minority is seen as a unit rather than a collection of individuals:

A minority should always be respected, however small it may be Una minoría, aunque sea pequeña, debe ser respetada siempre

• If la minoría is seen as a collection of individuals, particularly when it is followed by de + ((PLURAL NOUN)), the plural form of the verb is more common than the singular, though both are possible:

...a minority of agitators want to introduce anarchy ...una minoría de agitadores quieren or quiere traer la anarquía

• The plural form must be used when la minoría or la minoría de + ((PLURAL NOUN)) is followed by ser or estar + ((plural complement)):

Only a minority of the demonstrators were students Sólo una minoría de los manifestantes eran estudiantes

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

minority

[maɪˈnɒrɪti]

n

[total number] → minorité f
to be in a minority → être en minorité
to be in the minority → être dans la minorité
a small minority of → une petite minorité de

(= group) → minorité f
the region's ethnic minorities → les minorités ethniques de la région minorities

npl

(= minority groups) → minorités fpl

(= members of minority groups) → minorités fpl
women and minorities → les femmes et les minoritésminority group n → minorité f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

minority

n

→ Minderheit f, → Minorität f; to be in a or the minority → in der Minderheit sein; the reforms will affect only a small minority of the population → die Reformen werden sich nur auf eine kleine Minderheit in der Bevölkerung auswirken; you are in a minority of one → Sie stehen allein da

(Jur) → Minderjährigkeit f

adj attr

→ Minderheits-; minority group → Minderheit f, → Minorität f; minority community → Minderheit f; (ethnic) minority students → Studenten pl, → die einer (ethnischen) Minderheit angehören; minority opinion → Minderheitsmeinung f; a minority view → die Ansicht einer Minderheit; minority rights (Pol) → Minderheitenrechte pl; minority programme (Brit) or program (US) (Rad/TV) → Programm, das nur einen kleinen Hörerkreis/Zuschauerkreis anspricht

(US Pol: = opposition) House/Senate Minority Leader → Oppositionsführer(in) m(f) (im Repräsentantenhaus/Senat)

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minority

:

minority government

n → Minderheitsregierung f

minority holding, minority interest

n (Fin) → Minderheitsbeteiligung f

minority shareholder

n (Fin) → Kleinaktionär(in) m(f)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

minority

[maɪˈnɒrɪtɪ]

1. n → minoranza
to be in a minority → essere in minoranza

2. adj (verdict) → minoritario/a; (government) → di minoranza

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

minor

(ˈmainə) adjective

1. 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. klein أقَل малък pouco importante menší, vedlejší kleiner mindre μικρός, ασήμαντος, δευτερεύωνmenor väiksem کم vähäinen secondaire, mineur, petitמשני छोटा, लघु sporedni kisebb kecil smávægilegur minore, secondario (より) 小さい 보다 작은, 중요하지 않은 nedidelis, šalutinis mazāks; mazsvarīgāks kecil kleinmindre, underordnetmniejszy, niewielki, drobny لږ pouco importante minor, secundar, neimportant незначительный; второстепенный menší, vedľajší manj pomemben manji mindre เล็กน้อย küçük, ufak, önemsiz 較小的，次要的 менший اہمیت، حجم وغیرہ میں کم nhỏ; thứ yếu 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. keusevak مَوْضوع ثانوي في الدراسَة الجامِعِيَّه втора специалност formação secundária vedlejší obor das Nebenfach bifag επιλεγόμενο μάθημα στο πανεπιστήμιο secundario kõrvalaine, lisaeriala رشته فرعی sivuaine matière secondaire חוּג מִשנִי गौण विषय pomoćni melléktantárgy mata pelajaran tambahan (materia secondaria studiata all'università) （大学の）副専攻科目 부전공의 ðalutinis specializacijos dalykas otršķirīgs studiju priekšmets mata pelajaran tambahan bijvak støttefag; studieretningsfag فرعى څانګه непрофилирующий предмет vedľajší odbor vysokoškolského štúdia stranski predmet sporedni predmet biämne ซึ่งเป็นวิชารอง ikinci branş (美)副修科目 другорядний, непрофілюючий предмет کالج میں لیا گیا ثانوی موضوع đề tài phụ 副修科目

verb

(American) to study something as a minor subject. He is minoring in French. keusevak studeer يدرُس كموضوع ثانوي изучавам като втора специалност formar studovat vedlejší obor im Nebenfach studieren tage bifagseksamen παρακολουθώ επιλεγόμενο (δευτερεύον) μάθημα estudiar como asignatura secundaria kõrvalainena õppima, lisaeriala õppima در رشته فرعی تحصیل کردن opiskella sivuaineenaan étudier qqch comme matière secondaire לִלמוֹד בְּחוּג מִשנִי गौण विषय का अध्ययन dodatno studirati melléktantárgyként felvesz mempelajari sesuatu sebagai mata pelajaran tambahan (studiare una materia secondaria all'università) 副専攻する 부전공을 하다 studijuoti kaip šalutinę specialybę mācīties otršķirīgu priekšmetu mempelajari sesuatu sebagai mata pelajaran tambahan als bijvak studeren ta som støttefag studiować jako przedmiot poboczny په فرعى څانګه كښى تحصيل كول изучать как второй предмет študovať ako vedľajší odbor imeti za stranski predmet studirati nešto kao sporedni predmet läsa som biämne เรียนเป็นวิชารอง ikinci branş olarak almak (美)副修 вивчати непрофілюючий предмет کسی موضوع کو ثانوی طور پر پڑھنا học như một đề tài phụ 辅修

noun

a person who is not yet legally an adult. minderjarige قاصِر непълнолетен menor nedospělý, -á der/die Minderjährige mindreårig ανήλικοςmenor alaealine صغیر alaikäinen mineur/-eure קטין अवयस्क malodobnik kiskorú anak di bawah umur ólögráða maður minore, minorenne 未成年者 미성년자 nepilnametis nepilngadīgais budak bawah umur minderjarigemindreårig, umyndigniepełnoletni نابالغه، كوچنى menor minor несовершеннолетний nedospelý, -á mladoletnik maloletnik minderårig ผู้เยาว์ reşit olmayan kimse 未成年人 неповнолітній نابالغ trẻ vị thành niên 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. klein hoeveelheid, minderheid أقَليَّه малцинство minoria menšina die Minderheit minoritet μειονότηταminoría vähemus اقلیت vähemmistö minoritéמיעוט अल्पसंख्यक manjina kisebbség minoritas minnihluti; minnihlutahópur minoranza 少数 소수 mažuma mazākums minoriti minderheidmindretall, minoritetmniejszość اقليت minoria minoritate меньшинство menšina manjšina manjina minoritet คนกลุ่มน้อย azınlık 少數 меншість; менша частина اقلّیت thiểu số 少数

be in the minority

to be in the smaller of two groups. Women were in the minority at the meeting. in die minderheid wees يكون في الأقَليَّه от малцинството съм estar na minoria být v menšině in der Minderheit sein være i mindretal ανήκω στη μειοψηφία estar en minoría vähemuses olema در اقلیت بودن kuulua vähemmistöön être en minorité לִהיוֹת בְּמִיעוּט अल्पसंख्या में होना biti u manjini kisebbségben van termasuk minoritas vera í minnihluta essere in minoranza 少数派の 소수파이다 sudaryti mažumą būt mazākumā bilangan kecil minderheidvære i mindretall być w mniejszości په اقليت كښى estar na minoria a fi în minoritate быть в меньшинстве byť v menšine biti v manjšini biti u manjini vara i minoritet อยู่ในกลุ่มที่เล็กกว่า azınlıkta olmak/kalmak 居於少數 бути в меншості کم تعداد میں ہونا nhóm thiểu số 少数派

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

minority

→ أقَلِيَّةٌ menšina minoritet Minderheit μειονότητα minoría vähemmistö minorité manjina minoranza 少数派 소수 minderheid minoritet mniejszość minoria меньшинство minoritet คนกลุ่มน้อย azınlık thiểu số 少数

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

minority

n. minoría, minoridad.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012