1530s, "condition of being smaller," from Middle French minorité (15c.), or directly from Medieval Latin minoritatem (nominative minoritas), from Latin minor (see minor (adj.)). Meaning "state of being under legal age" is from 1540s; that of "smaller number or part" is from 1736. The meaning "group of people separated from the rest of a community by race, religion, language, etc." is from 1919, originally in an Eastern European context.
双语例句
1. A minority of officers were prepared to bend the rules.
少数官员准备篡改规则。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Only a minority of the people supported the Revolution.
只有少数人支持这场革命。
来自柯林斯例句
3. In the past conservatives have been in the minority.
过去保守派一直占少数。
来自柯林斯例句
4. Local authority nursery provision covers only a tiny minority of working mothers.
当地政府提供的保育服务只有少数上班族母亲才能够享受到。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Minority cultures within the United States often raised issues of cross-cultural conflict.