mi|nor|i|ty

mi|nor|i|ty «muh NR uh tee, -NOR-; my-», noun, plural -ties, adjective.

–n.

1. a) the smaller number or part; less than half: »

The minority must often do what the majority decides to do. A minority of the children wanted a party, but the majority chose a picnic; as a result we had a big picnic.

b) a group within a country, state, or community that differs in race, religion, or national origin from the larger part of the population; minority group: »

They represent a growing nationwide effort to develop…classroom literature that depicts blacks and other minorities in a different and more equal perspective (New York Times).

c) an individual who is part of a minority group, usually a person of color.

2. the condition or time of being under the legal age of responsibility: »

the long minority of Henry the Sixth, who was a boy nine months old at his father's death (John R. Green).

SYNONYM(S): nonage.

–adj.

1. of or constituting a minority: »

a minority vote, a minority party.

2. representing or belonging to a minority: »

a minority opinion, the minority leader of the senate.

3. of or belonging to people of color; non-white »

"The problem for minority children is that, on average, they're growing up in neighborhoods where they are the majority, and that's not the world they will live in" (New York Times).