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, ∨ To join, the majority, to die.
© Webster 1913.