What does maior mean in Latin?

maior, a noun, means “ancestors, forefathers; advanced in years, the aged; the elders”.

What is the genitive of maior?

The genitive singular is maiōris. maior is masculine, third declension.

In classical Latin, [ˈmaj.jɔr]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈmaː.jor].

English words that go back to Latin maior include mayor, major, majordomo, majorant, majority and majoration.

noun · masculinethird declension

maior m (genitive maiōris)

Classical[ˈmaj.jɔr]Ecclesiastical[ˈmaː.jor]

in pluralmasculineancestors, forefathers; advanced in years, the aged; the elders
Ergo illum, qui haec fecerat, Rudinum hominem, maiores nostri in civitatem receperunt.Therefore Ennius, who composed these poems, although a man from Rudiae, our ancestors granted him citizenship.106 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Pro Archia Poeta Oratio line 284
‘hinc sua maiōrēs tribuisse vocābula Maiō tangor et aetātī cōnsuluisse suae.’ ‘‘Because of this, the ancestors granted their name to May, I have come to grasp, and in regard to their own old age.’’ (The muse Urania claims that the month of May honors the ‘‘maiōrēs’’ – ‘‘ancestors’’ or ‘‘elders’’.)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 5.73–74
Medieval LatinmasculineA mayor (a leader of a city or town).

grandior, superior

māior -ius — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 16 and Evangelium secundum Marcum, ch. 14

mājor, mājōres, v. magnus.

From Proto-Italic *majjōs, from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂yōs, from *meǵh₂- (“great”) + *-yōs (comparative suffix).

Descendants