Etymograph

English

semimajor

From semi- + major.

A compound of semi- + major

Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one’

Proto-Indo-European *sēmi ‘half’

English semi-

Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂- ‘great’

Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂yōs ‘greater’

Proto-Italic *majjōs

Latin maior ‘greater’

Middle English major

English major

Today it means

adj Of or pertaining to the semimajor axis, the long axis of an ellipse

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “semimajor”. 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 / semimajor

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