Major

Major

In the US Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and the British Army, a major is a commissioned officer superior to a captain and inferior to a colonel. The equivalent rank in the US Navy is Lieutenant Commander. The insignia for all four positions is a gold maple leaf. It is also used for superior army ranks, such as Sergeant-Major, Drum-Major and Major-General.

The term major also refers to the primary focus of a Bachelor's degree.

In music, major can refer to a scale, chord, or interval, in contrast to minor. See major scale, major chord, major third, major sixth, relative minor/major, parallel minor/major.

In British public school terminology, "major" means an older brother or sister (when two people have the same surname), as opposed to "minor".