Etymology

junior

ju·nior
J8U1N1I1O1R1

Today it means: Low in rank; having a subordinate role, job, or situation. Full definition →

Latin iūnior ← Proto-Italic *juwō ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwHō
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junior · adjective, noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ey-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂óyu
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂yéwHō
  4. Proto-Italic*juwō
  5. Latiniuvenis
  6. Latiniūnior
  7. English todayjunior

Borrowed from Latin junior, a contraction of iuvenior (“younger”) which is the comparative of iuvenis (“young”); see juvenile.

Junior · proper noun2

From junior. The town in West Virginia was established on November 13, 1897, and named after Henry G. Davis Jr. (1871–1896), a son of United States Senator from West Virginia Henry G. Davis (1823–1916) who had been drowned at sea off the Atlantic Coast of South Africa while returning home on the steamship Munkesenton.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.