—Synonyms 3.Majority,plurality, in the context of an election, poll, or other voting situation resulting in a statistically based statement, both denote an amount or number larger than some other. In situations in which only two candidates, options, or positions are concerned, the terms are interchangeable, though majority is by far the more commonly used: She beat her opponent by a large majority. The proposal received a large plurality of “Yes” votes. When three or more choices are available, however, a distinction is made between majority and plurality. A majority, then, consists of more than one-half of all the votes cast, while a plurality is merely the number of votes one candidate receives in excess of the votes for the candidate with the next largest number. Thus, in an election in which three candidates receive respectively 500, 300, and 200 votes, the first candidate has a plurality of 200 votes, but not a majority of all the votes cast. If the three candidates receive 600, 300, and 100 votes, the first has a majority of 100 votes (that is 100 votes more than one-half the total of 1000 cast) and a plurality of 300 votes over the nearest opponent.
The greater number or part; a number more than half of the total.
The amount by which the greater number of votes cast, as in an election, exceeds the total number of remaining votes.
The political party, group, or faction having the most power by virtue of its larger representation or electoral strength.
Law The status of having reached full legal age, with attendant rights and responsibilities.
The military rank, commission, or office of a major.
Obsolete The fact or state of being greater; superiority.
[French majorité, from Medieval Latin māiōritās, from Latin māior, greater; see meg- in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note: When majority refers to a particular number of votes, it takes a singular verb: Her majority was five votes. His majority has been growing by 5 percent every year. When it refers to a group of persons or things that are in the majority, it may take either a singular or plural verb, depending on whether the group is considered as a whole or as a set of people considered individually. So we say The majority elects (not elect) the candidate it wants (not they want), since the election is accomplished by the group as a whole; but The majority of the voters live (not lives) in the city, since living in the city is something that each voter does individually. · Majority is often preceded by great (but not by greater) in expressing emphatically the sense of "most of": The great majority approved. The phrase greater majority is appropriate only when considering two majorities: He won by a greater majority in this election than in the last.
1552, "condition of being greater, superiority," from M.Fr. majorité, from M.L. majoritatem (nom. majoritas) "majority," from L. major "greater" (see major). Sense of "state of being of full age" is attested from c.1565; meaning "greater number or part" (of votes, etc.) first recorded 1691.
the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part; "the majority of his customers prefer it"; "the bulk of the work is finished" [ant: minority]
2.
(elections) more than half of the votes
3.
the age at which persons are considered competent to manage their own affairs [ant: minority]
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This Main Entry: ma·jor·i·ty Pronunciation: m&-'jor-&-tE Function: noun Inflected Form: plural-ties 1 a:LEGAL AGEb: the status of one who has reached legal age 2 a: a number or quantity greater thanhalf of a total —compare PLURALITYb: the excess of a majority over the remainder of the total 3a: the group or political party whose votes predominate b: the judges voting in a particular case who together determine the prevailing decision —see also majorityopinion at OPINION —compare DISSENT 3—majorityadjective
Ma*jor"i*ty\, n.; pl. Majorities. [F. majorit['e]. See Major.]1. The quality or condition of being major or greater; superiority. Specifically: (a) The military rank of a major. (b) The condition of being of full age, or authorized by law to manage one's own affairs. 2. The greater number; more than half; as, a majority of mankind; a majority of the votes cast. 3. [Cf. L. majores.] Ancestors; ancestry. [Obs.] 4. The amount or number by which one aggregate exceeds all other aggregates with which it is contrasted; especially, the number by which the votes for a successful candidate exceed those for all other candidates; as, he is elected by a majority of five hundred votes. See Plurality. To go over to, or To join, the majority, to die.
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