means The smaller part of a group, or a group that differs from the larger population in number, identity, or power — and in law, the state of being under the age of full legal responsibility.

from From Latin 'minor,' meaning 'lesser' or 'smaller,' through medieval Latin 'minoritas.' The same little root gives us 'minus,' 'minimum,' and 'minister' (originally a 'lesser' servant). It arrived in English by way of French around the 16th century, first describing the condition of being underage — a 'minor' too young to count — before stretching to mean the smaller side of any divided whole.