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.
雙語例句
1. A minority of officers were prepared to bend the rules.
少數官員準備篡改規則。
來自柯林斯例句
2. Only a minority of the people supported the Revolution.
只有少數人支持這場革命。
來自柯林斯例句
3. In the past conservatives have been in the minority.
過去保守派一直占少數。
來自柯林斯例句
4. Local authority nursery provision covers only a tiny minority of working mothers.
當地政府提供的保育服務只有少數上班族母親才能夠享受到。
來自柯林斯例句
5. Minority cultures within the United States often raised issues of cross-cultural conflict.