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Major vs Historic - What's the difference?

major | historic |

As adjectives the difference between major and historic

is that major is of great significance or importance while historic is having importance or significance in history.

As a noun major

is a military rank between captain and lieutenant colonel.

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}.

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

    * ----

    historic

    English

    Alternative forms

    * historick (obsolete) * hystoric (nonstandard)

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Having importance or significance in history.
  • Belonging to the past; historical (see note below).

    • Usage notes

    * The rule that "an" is used before vowel sounds is confounded by the wide variety in pronunciation (particularly regional) of the sometimes-silent h''. For example, in the United States, the ''h generally is not silent. (See s for more details.) * Modern convention makes a distinction between historic''''' and '''''historical''''', although the two words are variants and have shared the same meanings for much of their history. '''''Historic''''' means "very important in history or having a long history", while '''''historical''''' refers to people who lived or events that occurred in the past, or refers to things that are connected with or found in the past. For example, a '''historic event''' is an important event of history, while a ' historical event is any event that happened in the past, whether important or not. *: July 4, 1776 is a historic date. A great deal of historical research has been done on the events leading up to that day. *: The historical works of Lord Macaulay and Edward Gibbon are in and of themselves historic.

    Antonyms

    * unhistoric

    Derived terms

    * historical * posthistoric

    References

    * Words @ Random * The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. * Paul Brians Common Errors in English Usage * English Plus+ * The UVic Writer's Guide * Garbl's Writing Center

    Anagrams

    *