Emily Dickinson Lexicon

MA-JOR'I-TY, n. [Fr. majorité; from major.]

1. The greater number; more than half; as, a majority of mankind; a majority of votes in Congress. A measure may be carried by a large or small majority.
2. Full age; the age at which the laws of a country permit a young person to manage his own affairs. Henry III. had no sooner come to his majority, than the barons raised war against him.
3. The office, rank, or commission of a major.
4. The state of being greater. It is not a plurality of parts, without majority of parts. [Little used.] Grew.
5. [L. majores.] Ancestors; ancestry. [Not used.] Brown.
6. Chief rank. [Not used.] Shak.