A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1971 (DOST Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1565-1694
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Majorité, -ty, -tie, n. [e.m.E. maioritie superiority, pre-eminence (1552), full age (1579), F. majorité, L. mājōritās.] The state of being of full age or major (Major a. 3). 1565 Facs. Nat. MSS. III. xlix.
Now quhen we ar at oure full maiorité, sall we be brocht bak to the stait of pupillis and minouris? a1570-86 Maitland Maitland Folio MS clxxx. 63.
Do na thing in thi minoritie … That quhane thow cummis to maioritie [etc.] 1601 Edinb. B. Rec. V. 287.
Now in his mateis maiorite 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. (Table) ii. 65.
The question of majoritie or minoritie of age a1633 Hope Major Pract. I. 184. a1633 Ib. 324. 1673 Kirkcudbr. Test. (Kirkcudbr. Sheriff Ct.) 13 Sept.
To … maintain … my … bairnes … untill they com to majoritie 1694 Fountainhall Decis. I. 603.
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"Majorité n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/majorite>
