Definition of minor
(Entry 1 of 3)
1
: inferior in importance, size, or degree : comparatively unimportant
a minor artist
2
: not having reached majority (see majority sense 2)
He is the father of minor children.
3a
: having half steps between the second and third, the fifth and sixth, and sometimes the seventh and eighth degrees
minor scale
b
: based on a minor scale
minor key
c
: less by a semitone than the corresponding major interval
minor third
d
: having a minor third above the root
minor triad
4
: not serious or involving risk to life
minor illness
5
: of or relating to an academic subject requiring fewer courses than a major
his minor subjects for his M.A. were plant ecology and entomology — Current Biography
minor
nounDefinition of minor (Entry 2 of 3)
1
: a person who is not yet old enough to have the rights of an adult
2
: a minor musical interval, scale, key, or mode
3a
: a minor academic subject
b
: a student taking a specified minor
4
: a determinant or matrix obtained from a given determinant or matrix by eliminating the row and column in which a given element lies
5
minors plural
: minor league baseball
—used with the
minor
verb
minored; minoring; minors
Definition of minor (Entry 3 of 3)
: to take courses in a minor subject
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for minor
The first known use of minor was in 1526
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