1. The state or condition of being under legal age. • In Scots law, legal minority begins at the end of puberty; until then, a person is a pupil. — Also termed infancy; nonage; immaturity. Cf. MAJORITY(1). [Cases: Infants
1. C.J.S. Infants §§ 2–4.]
2. A group having fewer than a controlling number of votes. Cf. MAJORITY(2). [Cases: Corporations 182.
3. C.J.S. Corporations § 344.]
3. A group that is different in some respect (such as race or religious belief) from the majority and that is sometimes treated differently as a result; a member of such a group. • Some courts have held that the term minority, in this sense, is not limited to a group that is outnumbered. It may also be applied to a group that has been traditionally discriminated against or socially suppressed, even if its members are in the numerical majority in an area. [Cases: Civil Rights 1007. C.J.S. Civil Rights §§ 2–5, 7–9, 11–13, 18, 44.]
