minor

The story

1. Middle French · derived frommenor
2. Latin · derived fromminor“lesser; young; young person”
3. Middle English · inherited fromminor
4. English todayminor

From Middle English minor, menor, menour, etc., from Latin minor (“lesser; young; young person”) both directly and via Norman and Middle French menor, menour, etc. Doublet of minus but not mini-. Cognate with minister, minify, Minorca, Menshevik, and possibly minnow. Compare Latin minimum and minuō, Old High German minniro, Cornish minow.

Words from the same roots