Etymograph

English

major

Major comes from Middle English major, from Latin maior ‘greater’, comparative of magnus ‘great’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂yōs ‘greater’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meǵh₂-1‘great’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méǵh₂yōs1‘greater’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*majjōs1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaior1‘greater’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500major1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1978major1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English major
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1978, 1976, Leszek Kołakowski: “Believing as he did that all differences of view,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meǵh₂-Wiktionary, English major‘great’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méǵh₂yōsWiktionary, English major‘greater’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*majjōsWiktionary, English majorreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaiorWiktionary, English major‘greater’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500majorWiktionary, English major
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1978majorWiktionary, English major. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1978, 1976, Leszek Kołakowski: “Believing as he did that all differences of view,…”

The story

Noun sense 1 is a shortening of sergeant major, perhaps after Spanish mayor in the same sense.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with major, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s ‘big, great’

  • master ← maister ← mǣster ← magister ← magester
  • magnitude ← magnitūdō ← magnus ← *magnos ← *m̥ǵh₂nós
  • magnum ← magnus ← *magnos ← *m̥ǵh₂nós
  • maxim ← maxime ← maxima ← maximus ← *magisVmos
  • magnate ← magnātēs ← magnus ← *magnos ← *m̥ǵh₂nós
  • magnify ← magnifien ← magnifier ← magnificāre ← magnificus
  • mair ← māra ← *mikilaz
  • mickle ← miċel ← *mikil ← *mikilaz
  • muckle ← muchel ← myċel ← *mikil ← *mikilaz
  • mahila ← महिला ← महिला ← *maȷ́ʰā́

through Latin maior

22 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

adj Greater in dignity, rank, importance, significance, or interest.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “major”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂- / major