melior

Melior is a Latin adjective meaning “better.” It is the comparative form of bonus (good), with the neuter form melius and the corresponding superlative optimus. In Latin, melior is used to compare two things or people, as in Hic liber melior est, “This book is better.”

Grammar and forms: Melior is declined to agree with gender, number, and case. In the singular, the masculine and feminine nominative is melior, the neuter nominative and accusative is melius; the genitive is melioris, and the dative and ablative are meliori. In the plural, the masculine and feminine nominative/accusative are meliores, the neuter nominative/accusative are meliora; the genitive is meliorum, the dative and ablative are melioribus. This mirrors the pattern of Latin comparatives for consonant-stem adjectives.

Usage and context: Melior appears throughout classical Latin literature as the standard way to express improvement relative to another thing. It remains the normal Latin form in educational and scholarly contexts when discussing grammar, rhetoric, or historical texts. In modern Latin, the word is still used in analogical or formal expressions to convey “better,” though it is most often encountered in studies of Latin grammar rather than everyday language.

Related terms and influence: The stem melior has influenced certain English terms and philosophy, notably meliorism, the belief that the world tends toward improvement. The idea of making something better also yields related concepts in English and in historical philosophical discourse. Melior can also appear as a proper noun in some names or titles, though such usage is secondary to its Latin meaning.

See also: meliorism.