Mehrheit
German
Etymology
Calque of Dutch meerderheid (1719), itself probably a calque (± 1600) of French pluralité (“majority”), originating 1559. Old High German mērheit (“quality of being more”) had no attested continuation. Analyzable as mehr (“more”) + -heit (“-hood”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmeːɐ̯haɪ̯t/ (standard)
- IPA(key): /ˈmɛɐ̯haɪ̯t/ (by a common merger)
Audio (Austria): (file) Audio: (file) - Hyphenation: Mehr‧heit
Noun
Mehrheit f (genitive Mehrheit, plural Mehrheiten)
- majority; bulk
- (politics) majority (specified as absolute Mehrheit)
- (politics) plurality (specified as relative Mehrheit)
Declension
Declension of Mehrheit [feminine]
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | eine | die | Mehrheit | die | Mehrheiten |
| genitive | einer | der | Mehrheit | der | Mehrheiten |
| dative | einer | der | Mehrheit | den | Mehrheiten |
| accusative | eine | die | Mehrheit | die | Mehrheiten |