Etymograph

English

majorat

Majorat comes from French majorat, from majeur ‘of great importance, main, major, principal,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meǵh₂-‘great’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*méǵh₂yōsreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*majjōsreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaior‘larger, greater’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600majeur
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘of great importance, main, major, principal, greatest’
  7. French, derivedc. 1600–presentmajorat
  8. Englishtodaysame form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meǵh₂-‘great’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*méǵh₂yōsreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*majjōsreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaior‘larger, greater’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600majeur
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘of great importance, main, major, principal, greatest’
  7. French, derivedc. 1600–presentmajorat
  8. Englishtodaysame form

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂- ‘great’

much, mastery, magistrate, maestro, meister, masterly, magisterium, 7 more

through Latin maior ‘larger, greater’

mayor, merino, maggiore, 6 more

Today it means

noun primogeniture

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂- / majorat

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