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Department vs Major - What's the difference?

department | major |

As nouns the difference between department and major

is that department is a part, portion, or subdivision while major is a military rank between captain and lieutenant colonel.

As an adjective major is

of great significance or importance.

As a verb major is

to concentrate on a particular area of study as a student in a college or university.

As a proper noun Major is

{{surname}.

department

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A part, portion, or subdivision.
  • A distinct course of life, action, study, or the like.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2014
    • , date=November 14 , author=Stephen Halliday , title=Scotland 1-0 Republic of Ireland: Maloney the hero , work=The Scotsman citation , page= , passage=Flair and invention were very much at a premium, suffocated by the relentless pace and often fractious nature of proceedings. The absence of James Morrison from the centre of Scotland’s midfield, the West Brom man ruled out on the morning of the game by illness, had already diminished the creative capacity of the home side in that department .}}
  • * (and other bibliographic particulars), (Thomas Babington Macaulay)
  • A subdivision of an organization.
  • # One of the principal divisions of executive government
  • the Treasury Department'''''; ''the '''Department''' of Agriculture''; ''police '''department
  • # One of the divisions of instructions
  • the physics department'''''; ''the gender studies '''department
  • A territorial division; a district; especially, in France, one of the districts composed of several arrondissements into which the country is divided for governmental purposes.
  • * 2002 , , The Great Nation: France from Louis XV to the 1715-99 , Penguin 2003, p. 427:
    • The departments were the bricks from which the edifice of the nation was to be constructed.
  • (label) A military subdivision of a country; as, the Department of the Potomac.
  • (label) Act of departing; departure.
  • * (and other bibliographic particulars), Wotton
    • sudden 'departments from one extreme to another

    Synonyms

    * (distinct course) province, specialty * (division of executive government) ministry

    Derived terms

    * departmental * departmentally

    See also

    * province * state

    major

    English

    Alternative forms

    * majour (obsolete)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl)

    Alternative forms

    * (abbreviation)

    Noun

    (wikipedia major)
  • (en noun), or, when used as a title before a person's name , Major
  • a military rank between captain and lieutenant colonel
    • He used to be a major in the army.
    This is Major Jones.
    Usage notes
    When used as a title, it is always capitalized. : Example: Major Jane Payne. The rank corresponds to pay grade O-4. Abbreviations: Maj. and MAJ.
    Related terms
    * majority * sergeant-major

    Etymology 2

    (etyl) , from Proto-Indo-European *ma?-yes-'' "greater", comparative of ''*ma?-, *me?- , "great".

    Adjective

  • Of great significance or importance.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author= Karen McVeigh
    • , volume=189, issue=2, page=10, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= US rules human genes can't be patented , passage=The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.}}
  • Greater in number, quantity, or extent.
    • the major part of the assembly
  • Of full legal age; having attained majority.
  • (music) Of a scale which follows the pattern: tone - tone - semitone - tone - tone - tone - semitone
    • a major scale.
  • (music) Being the larger of two intervals denoted by the same ordinal number.
  • (music) Containing the note which is a major third (four half steps) above the tonic.
    • Derived terms
    * majorly
    Antonyms
    * minor

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (US, Canada, Australia, and, New Zealand) The main area of study of a student working toward a degree at a college or university.
    • Midway through his second year of college, he still hadn't chosen a major .
  • (US, Canada, Australia, and, New Zealand) A student at a college or university concentrating on a given area of study.
    • She is a math major .
  • A person of legal age.
  • (logic) The major premise.
  • (Canadian football) An alternate term for touchdown; short for "major score".
  • A large, commercially successful record label, as opposed to an indie.
  • * 2005 , Billboard (volume 117, number 3, 15 January 2005, page 36)
    • He says Ninja Tune retains the master and publishing rights on most of its catalog, making it easy to license quickly. Yet as majors jump on the videogame bandwagon, he fears indies may lose that outlet.
    Antonyms
    * (a person of legal age) minor

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • to concentrate on a particular area of study as a student in a college or university
    • I have decided to major in mathematics.

    Anagrams

    * ----