| Title | major | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text |
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary Ma·jor John 1943- British prime minister (1990-97) ma·jor
ETYMOLOGY Middle English maiour, from Latin major,comparative of magnus great, large — more at much DATE 15th century 1. greater in dignity, rank, importance, or interest one of the major poets 2. greater in number, quantity, or extent the major part of his work 3. having attained majority 4. a. notable or conspicuous in effect or scope : considerable a major improvement b. prominent or significant in size, amount, or degree earned some major cash 5. involving grave risk : serious a major illness 6. of or relating to a subject of academic study chosen as a field of specialization 7. a. having half steps between the third and fourth and the seventh and eighth degrees major scale b. based on a major scale major key c. equivalent to the distance between the keynote and another tone (except the fourth and fifth) of a major scale major third d. having a major third above the root major triad
noun DATE 1616 1. a person who has attained majority 2. a. one that is superior in rank, importance, size, or performance economic power of the oil majors b. a major musical interval, scale, key, or mode 3. a commissioned officer in the army, air force, or marine corps ranking above a captain and below a lieutenant colonel 4. a. an academic subject chosen as a field of specialization b. a student specializing in such a field a history major 5. plural : major league baseball — used with the 6. any of several high-level tournaments in professional golf
intransitive verb DATE 1913 : to pursue an academic major majored in English English Etymology major 1. major (adj.) c.1400, from L. major (earlier *magjos), irregular comp. of magnus "large, great" (see magnate). Used in music (of modes, scales, or chords) since 1694, on notion of an interval a half-tone greater than the minor. The verb meaning "focus (one's) studies" is 1924, from noun in sense of "subject of specialization" (1890). 2. major (n.) military rank, 1643, from Fr., short for sergent-major,originally a higher rank than at present, from M.L. major "chief officer, magnate, superior person," from L. major "an elder, adult," noun use of the adjective (see major (adj.)). Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 ☞ major major / 5meidVE(r) / adjective1. [usually before noun] very large or important 主要的；重要的；大的: a major road 一条大马路 major international companies 大跨国公司 to play a major role in sth 在某事中起重要作用 We have encountered major problems. 我们遇上了大问题。 There were calls for major changes to the welfare system. 有人要求对福利制度进行重大改革。 OPP minor ⇨ note at main ⇨ see also minor-league (2) 2. [not before noun] (NAmE) serious 严重: Never mind—it's not major. 别担心——这不严重。 3. (music 音) based on a scale (= a series of three notes) in which the third note is ten whole tones / steps higher than the first note 大调的: the key of D major D 大调 ⇨ compare minor adj. (2) 4. (NAmE) related to sb's main subject of study in college 主修的(课程)noun1. [C] (abbr. Maj.) an officer of fairly high rank in the army or the US air force 少校: Major Smith 史密斯少校 He's a major in the US army. 他是美国陆军少校。 ⇨ see also drum major , sergeant major 2. [C] (NAmE) the main subject or course of a student at college or university 主修课程；专业课: Her major is French. 她的专业课是法语。 ⇨ compare minor n. (2) 3. [C] (NAmE) a student studying a particular subject as the main part of their course 主修学生；主修生: She's a French major. 她是法语专业的学生。 4. the majors [pl.] (NAmE) (sport 体) the major leagues 棒球联合总会verb PHRASAL VERBS ▪ 'major in sth (NAmE) to study sth as your main subject at a university or college 主修: She majored in History at Stanford. 她在斯坦福主修历史。 ▪ 'major on sth (BrE) to pay particular attention to six subject, issue, etc. 专门研究(课题、问题等) Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English major noun • Note at RANK Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Edition n. Function: adjective 1 Synonyms: CHIEF 2, capital, ||cock, main, outstanding, predominant, preeminent, principal, star, stellar Related Words: better, greater, higher, superior 2 Synonyms: BIG 1, considerable, extensive, hefty, large, large-scale, sizable 3 Synonyms: GRAVE 3, dangerous, fell, grievous, serious, uglyWebster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged Search result show the entry is found in: major air command , or major axis , or major bass , or major canon , or major diameter , or major element , or major excommunication , or major feria , or major flute , or major form class , or major general , or major key , or major league , or major mitchell , or major order , or major party, or major penalty , or major piece , or major planet , or major premise , or major prophet , or major seminary , or major seventh chord , or major suit , or major surgery , or major tenace , or major term , or major triad , or mary major , or pipe major , or senior major , or sergeant major , or sergeant major of the army , or sergeant major of the marine corps , or b-flat major , or surgeon major , or town major , or tuba major , or b major , or vis major , or worker major , or major depression , or major depressive disorder , or major histocompatibility complex , or major-league , or major-medical , or brigade major , or a-flat major , or c-flat major , or aid-major , or c major , or command sergeant major , or corporal major, or c-sharp major , or d-flat major , or a major , or d major , or drum major , or e-flat major , or e major , or f major , or f-sharp major , or g-flat major , or g major , or havildar majorma·jor I. \ˈmājə(r)\ adjective Etymology: Middle English majour, from Latin major larger, greater, compar. of magnus large, great — more at much 1. : greater in dignity, rank, importance, or interest : superior < regarded him as one of the major poets of his generation — Douglas Cleverdon > < the minor and major arts are flourishing — Saturday Review > 2. : greater in number, quantity, or extent : larger < output of salt showed marked increases by all of the major … producing countries — Americana Annual > < the major part of this work was undertaken by him — H.W.H.Knott > 3. : of full legal age < major children > 4. : notable or conspicuous in effect or scope : considerable , principal — compare negligible < on a major military offensive — Collier's Year Book > < so that no single country produced any of the major weapons exclusively in its own territory — Denis Healey > 5. : involving grave risk : serious < a major illness > < a major operative procedure > 6. a. : of or relating to a subject of academic study chosen as a field of specialization b. : of or relating to a secondary-school course requiring a maximum of classroom hours 7. a. of a scale : having half steps between the third and fourth and the seventh and eighth degrees b. of a key : based (as in its harmonic relations) on such a scale— opposed to minor; used after the name of a keynote < sonata in C major > < the F-major symphony > c. of an interval (1) : greater by a half step than minor : of a size equal to the distance between the keynote and a (specified) degree of the major scale — used of the second, third, sixth, and seventh; compare perfect (2) : greater by a comma — used of one whole step in an untempered scale compared with another < C-D is a major step, greater than the minor step D-E > — compare temperament d. of a mode in mensurable music : having the large divided into longs II. noun (-s) Etymology: Medieval Latin, from Latin, adjective 1. archaic : major premise 2. : a person of full legal age 3. a. : one that is superior in rank, importance, station, or performance < minor poets are legion; the majors are few and far between > b. : one of the larger or more important members or units of a kind or group < night baseball in the majors is here to stay — John Drebinger > < much effort is made to “standardize” movies … the majors possess a near monopoly — R.A.Brady > c. : major suit < there is a laydown grand slam in either major — Florence Osborn > 4. [probably from French, from Medieval Latin, magnate, chief] : an army, marine, or airforce officer ranking just below a lieutenant colonel and above a captain 5. : a Salvation Army officer ranking above a senior captain and below a senior major 6. a. : a subject of academic study chosen as a field of specialization < took English literature as his major > b. : a student specializing in such a field < he is a history major > III. intransitive verb (-ed/-ing/-s) : to pursue an academic major < majoring in history at the university — John Dos Passos > |
Learn with these flashcards. Click next, previous, or up to navigate to more flashcards for this subject.
Next card: Majesty latin majestat power authority noun english your
Previous card: Majority the number votes of majority greater the
Up to card list: English learning