menor

See also: Menor

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin minōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [məˈnur]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [məˈno]
• IPA^(key): (Central) [məˈnor]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [meˈnoɾ]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [meˈnor]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

menor m or f (masculine and feminine plural menors)

1. lower, low
2. minor, small
3. (music) minor

Noun

menor m or f by sense (plural menors)

1. minor (person who is below the age of majority)

   Synonym: menor d'etat

Further reading

• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “menor”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)
• “menor”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “menor”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Cebuano

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *mey-

Proto-Indo-European *-néwti

Proto-Indo-European *minéwti

Proto-Italic *minuō?

Proto-Indo-European *-yōs

Proto-Italic *-(j)ōs?

Proto-Italic *minōs

Latin minōrem

Spanish menorbor.

Cebuano menor

Borrowed from Spanish menor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /miˈnoɾ/ [miˈn̪oɾ̪]
• Hyphenation: me‧nor

Verb

menór (Badlit spelling ᜋᜒᜈᜓᜇ᜔) (of driving)

1. to slow down

   Synonym: pahinay

2. to shift to a lower gear

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish menor (“younger”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: me‧nor

Adjective

menor

1. younger

Galician

Etymology

Inherited from Latin minōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /meˈnoɾ/ [mẽˈnoɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Hyphenation: me‧nor

Adjective

menor m or f (plural menores)

1. minor, lesser

   Antonym: maior

2. (music) minor

   Antonym: maior

Old French

Etymology

Inherited from Latin minōrem.

Adjective

menor (oblique singular, nominative singular meindre)

1. smaller
2. smallest
3. very small

Derived terms

• Bretaigne la Menur

Descendants

• → English: minor
• French: mineur, moindre (from the nominative singular)

References

• Frédéric Godefroy (1880–1902), “menor”, in Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle […], Paris: F[riedrich] Vieweg; Émile Bouillon, →OCLC.
• “menur”, in Anglo-Norman Dictionary, 2nd edition, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: Aberystwyth University, 2001–2026.

Polish

Etymology

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛ.nɔr/
• Rhymes: -ɛnɔr
• Syllabification: me‧nor

Noun

menor f

1. genitive plural of menora

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *mey-

Proto-Indo-European *-néwti

Proto-Indo-European *minéwti

Proto-Italic *minuō?

Proto-Indo-European *-yōs

Proto-Italic *-(j)ōs?

Proto-Italic *minōs

Latin minor

Old Galician-Portuguese [Term?]

Portuguese menor

Inherited from Latin minor.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /meˈnɔʁ/ [meˈnɔh]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /meˈnɔʁ/ [meˈnɔh]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /meˈnɔɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /meˈnɔʁ/ [meˈnɔχ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /meˈnɔɻ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɨˈnɔɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɨˈnɔɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɨˈnɔ.ɾi/

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: (Portugal, São Paulo) -ɔɾ, (Brazil) -ɔʁ
• Hyphenation: me‧nor

Adjective

menor m or f (plural menores)

1. (followed by que) comparative degree of pequeno; smaller

   Antonym: maior

   Laranjas são menores que melancias.

   Oranges are smaller than watermelons.

2. (preceded by a definite article) superlative degree of pequeno; smallest

   Antonym: maior

   O Sergipe é o menor estado do Brasil.

   Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil.

3. minor, lesser

   Antonym: maior

   um inimigo menor

   a lesser enemy

4. (law, of a person) underage, minor (below legal adulthood)

   Synonym: (proscribed) de menor

Noun

menor m or f by sense (plural menores)

1. (law) minor, underage (person below the legal age of responsibility or accountability)

Further reading

• “menor”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “menor”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *mey-

Proto-Indo-European *-néwti

Proto-Indo-European *minéwti

Proto-Italic *minuō?

Proto-Indo-European *-yōs

Proto-Italic *-(j)ōs?

Proto-Italic *minōs

Latin minōrem

Spanish menor

Inherited from Latin minōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /meˈnoɾ/ [meˈnoɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: me‧nor

Adjective

menor m or f (masculine and feminine plural menores)

1. comparative degree of pequeño: smaller

   Antonym: mayor

2. comparative degree of joven: younger

   Antonym: mayor

3. (el/la/lo menor) superlative degree of pequeño: smallest
4. (el/la/lo menor) superlative degree of joven: youngest

   el menor del grupo ― the youngest of the group

5. (of a person) underage, underaged (under the age of majority)

   Synonym: menor de edad

   Antonym: mayor de edad

6. (colloquial) (of a person) underage, underaged (under 18)

   Synonym: menor de edad

   Antonym: mayor de edad

Derived terms

• aguas menores
• arce menor
• caza menor
• centáurea menor
• chinchilla menor
• de menor cuantía
• en cuarto menor
• en folio menor
• en octavo menor
• en paños menores
• en ropas menores
• escaña menor
• hurón menor
• inmortal menor
• jilguero menor
• labios menores
• lampazo menor
• mal menor
• menor de edad
• menormente
• Osa Menor
• pico menor
• pormenor
• saúco menor
• tercera menor
• venta al por menor

Related terms

• menos
• minoría

Noun

menor m or f by sense (plural menores)

1. (law) minor (person under the age of majority)

   Synonym: menor de edad

   Antonym: mayor de edad

   • 2016, Anuel AA, “No Soy Romántico”:

     Aquí no hay menores; todos somos adultos.

     There are no minors here; we're all adults.

2. (colloquial) minor (person under 18)

   Synonym: menor de edad

   Antonym: mayor de edad

3. (Dominican Republic, Venezuela) kid, child

Derived terms

• abuso de menores
• correccional de menores
• corrupción de menores
• tráfico de menores
• tribunal de menores
• Tribunal Tutelar de Menores

Further reading

• “menor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Tagalog

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *mey-

Proto-Indo-European *-néwti

Proto-Indo-European *minéwti

Proto-Italic *minuō?

Proto-Indo-European *-yōs

Proto-Italic *-(j)ōs?

Proto-Italic *minōs

Latin minōrem

Spanish menorbor.

Tagalog menor

Borrowed from Spanish menor, from Latin minōrem.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /meˈnoɾ/ [mɛˈn̪oɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: me‧nor

Adjective

menór (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜒᜈᜓᜇ᜔)

1. of minor importance
2. young; not yet of age
3. (music) minor

Noun

menór (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜒᜈᜓᜇ᜔)

1. child of minor age
2. (music) minor key

   Synonym: modo menor

3. medium-rate acceleration (while driving a vehicle)
4. (figurative) slowing down

Derived terms

• magmenor

Related terms

• menor de-edad
• minorya
• modo menor

Further reading

• “menor”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025
• “menor”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018

Anagrams

• mer-on, meron