I. ˈjünyə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin, noun & adjective
1.
a.
(1) : a person who is younger than another
my juniors were already asleep — Jimmy O'Dea
told his junior that theological research was not compatible with longevity — H.J.Laski
(2) sometimes capitalized
[Late Latin, from Latin]
: a male child : son
in summer months junior wears a coat of tan and nothing more — New York Herald Tribune
just as good for mother and the girls as for junior — S.L.A.Marshall
junior is improving in his understanding of numbers — Paul Woodring
b.
(1) : a young person ; especially : junior miss
coats and even skirts for teens and juniors — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union
(2) : a clothing size for dresses, coats, and suits usually for women and girls with slight figures that have youthful designs and little fullness in the bodice
c. : an immature or young animal — used especially of small and pet stock
2.
[Medieval Latin, from Latin]
a. : a person holding a position of lesser standing in a hierarchy of ranks
executives told their juniors that the day of the order taker was over — F.L.Allen
the newest junior on the staff — Albert Christen
an officer one grade his junior — Wirt Williams
b.
(1) : a student in his next-to-the-last year before graduating from an educational institution
(2) : a student in his third year or having third-year standing at a senior college
(3) : a student in his first year at a junior college
(4) : a student in his third year at a secondary school
(5) : a pupil in a junior school
(6) : a member of a church school or Sunday school age-level division that generally includes children of the ages 9 to 11
3. : a barrister who has not taken silk
4. : a player (as the dealer in piquet) who receives cards later in the deal
II. adjective
Etymology: Latin, compar. of juvenis young — more at young
1.
a. : less advanced in age than another : younger — used chiefly and often cap. to distinguish a son with the same given name as his father; opposed to senior; abbr. Jr or jr
b.
(1) : of or relating to youth : youthful , young
some relatively junior skins are as dry as bone — Mademoiselle
(2) : designed for young people especially of the adolescent age group
a worthwhile junior novel — Louise S. Bechtel
c. : of more recent date
only six years junior to Boston — H.L.Mencken
specifically : of more recent date and therefore inferior or subordinate as to right of preference
a junior lien
d. : ranking below another in point of time of service
the junior senator from Illinois
specifically : having less seniority than another
resented having a junior man get to be an engineer before him
2.
a.
[Medieval Latin, from Latin]
: lower in standing or in rank especially in a hierarchy of ranks
a junior partner
made a junior member — G.A.Wagner
shifted himself, as junior officer, to the general's left — J.G.Cozzens
the task of teaching such courses is customarily assigned to junior members of the staff — Times Literary Supplement
b. : associated with another in a secondary or auxiliary role
the junior author of a methodological study
c. : duplicating or suggesting on a smaller or diminished scale something typically large or powerful
the junior hurricane that swept in — Mollie Panter-Downes
the new store will be a … junior department store — Retailing Daily
3.
a. : composed of juniors
the junior class
: of or relating to juniors, a junior class, or a junior school
b. : of or relating to a church school or Sunday school age-level division of juniors
the junior curriculum lessons