the smaller part or number; a number, part, or amount forming less than half of the whole.
a smaller party or group opposed to a majority, as in voting or other action.
a group in society distinguished from, and less dominant than, the more numerous majority: The ethnic minority was disproportionately affected by the reduction in preventative medical services.
a racial, ethnic, religious, or social subdivision of a society that is subordinate to the dominant group in political, financial, or social power without regard to the size of these groups: legislation aimed at providing equal rights for minorities.
a member of such a group.
the state or period of being under the legal age of full responsibility.
1530s, "condition of being smaller," from Middle French minorité (15c.), or directly from Medieval Latin minoritatem (nominative minoritas), from Latin minor (see minor (adj.)). Meaning "state of being under legal age" is from 1540s; that of "smaller number or part" is from 1736. The meaning "group of people separated from the rest of a community by race, religion, language, etc." is from 1919, originally in an Eastern European context.
