minority

The story

1. Latin · derived fromminor
2. Late Latin · derived fromminōritās
3. Middle French · derived fromminorité
4. Middle English · inherited fromminoritie
5. English todayminority

From Late Middle English minoritie, from Middle French minorité, and its source Late Latin minōritās, from Latin minor. Morphologically minor + -ity.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 15th c. The state of being a minor; youth, the period of a person's life prior to reaching adulthood.
• from 18th c. Any subgroup that does not form a numerical majority.
• from 20th c. A member of an ethnic minority.