minore

Minore is an Italian term used as an adjective and as a noun, with senses that depend on context. As an adjective, it is the comparative form of piccolo, meaning smaller, younger, or lesser in degree. As a noun, minore can refer to a person who is under the age of majority. In plural, minori denotes multiple individuals who are minors.

In music, minore denotes minor tonality, scale, or mode. It is used to label keys and musical forms that have a minor quality, such as do minore (C minor) or la minore (A minor). This usage stands in contrast to maggiore, which indicates a major key or mode. The concept includes the idea of a relative minor, the minor key related to a given major key by sharing the same key signature, typically the sixth degree of the major scale. In modern English-language notation, the term minor is more common, though historical Italian scores may use minore.

Beyond language and music, minore also appears in legal and sociocultural contexts to denote someone who is not yet an adult, with associated rights and restrictions differing from those of adults. As an adjective, it can describe things of lesser importance or size, depending on the context.

Etymology traces minore to Latin minor, with cognates in Romance languages. While primarily an Italian word, its usage spans everyday language, music theory, and legal terminology, reflecting the broad semantic range of “smaller” or “younger” in different domains.