3. The smaller number; -- opposed to majority; as, the minority must be
ruled by the majority.
Mi"nos (?), n. [Gr. &?;.] (Class. Myth.) A king and lawgiver of Crete,
fabled to be the son of Jupiter and Europa. After death he was made a
judge in the Lower Regions.
Min"o*taur (mn"*tr), n. [L. Minotaurus, Gr. Minw`tayros; Mi`nos, the
husband of Pasiphaë + tay^ros a bull, the Minotaur being the offspring
of Pasiphaë and a bull: cf. F. minotaure.] (Class. Myth.) A fabled
monster, half man and half bull, confined in the labyrinth constructed
by Dædalus in Crete.
Min"ow (?), n. See Minnow.
Min"ster (?), n. [AS. mynster, fr. L. monasterium. See Monastery.]
(Arch.) A church of a monastery. The name is often retained and applied
to the church after the monastery has ceased to exist (as Beverly
Minster, Southwell Minster, etc.), and is also improperly used for any
large church.
Minster house, the official house in which the canons of a cathedral
live in common or in rotation. Shipley.
Min"strel (?), n. [OE. minstrel, menestral, OF. menestrel, fr. LL.
ministerialis servant, workman (cf. ministrellus harpist), fr. L.
ministerium service. See Ministry, and cf. Ministerial.] In the Middle
Ages, one of an order of men who subsisted by the arts of poetry and
music, and sang verses to the accompaniment of a harp or other
instrument; in modern times, a poet; a bard; a singer and harper; a
musician. Chaucer.
Min"strel*sy (?), n. 1. The arts and occupation of minstrels; the
singing and playing of a minstrel.