Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • A Spanish island in the Balearics of the western Mediterranean Sea. Held by the British and the French at various times during the 1700s, it was a Loyalist stronghold in the Spanish Civil War.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A breed of domesticated fowls of the Mediterranean class, somewhat similar to the Leghorns, but longer-bodied and heavier. They are good table fowls, lay the year around, and are non-sitters.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun One of the Balearic Islands of Spain.
  • proper noun A breed of poultry.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the Latin Balearis Minor.

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Examples

  • In 1756, the French attacked and seized the Island of Minorca from the English.

    A Parallel History of France and England; Consisting of Outlines and Dates 1871

  • It is April 1756 and Vice-Admiral John Byng is charged with sailing to the Mediterranean to defend the island of Minorca which is threatened by the prospect of a French invasion launched from the great naval base at Toulon.

    John Terry’s sacking as England captain tells us something interesting... 2007

  • It is April 1756 and Vice-Admiral John Byng is charged with sailing to the Mediterranean to defend the island of Minorca which is threatened by the prospect of a French invasion launched from the great naval base at Toulon.

    John Terry’s sacking as England captain tells us something interesting... 2007

  • "Minorca," he wrote to Spencer, "I have never yet considered in the smallest danger, but it has been a misfortune that others have thought differently from me on that point."

    The Life of Nelson, Volume 2 (of 2) The Embodiment of the Sea Power of Great Britain 1877

  • They were reduced to skin and bone; many of them were naked; and their miserable condition so moved the seamen of the "Minorca" that they came aft to the quarter-deck, and asked permission to subscribe three days 'rations for the relief of the sufferers.

    The Two Brothers Honor�� de Balzac 1824

  • They were reduced to skin and bone; many of them were naked; and their miserable condition so moved the seamen of the "Minorca" that they came aft to the quarter-deck, and asked permission to subscribe three days 'rations for the relief of the sufferers.

    The Celibates Honor�� de Balzac 1824

  • The governor based at Quebec, the marquis de Galissonière, like other governors was a naval officer, later famous for his victory over the British fleet near Minorca.

    George Washington’s First War David A. Clary 2011

  • Minorca is a small island in the Mediterranean Sea off the Spanish coast.

    Fossil crowns massive rabbit 'king' 2011

  • "I would like to use N. rex to lure students and visitors to Minorca," he says.

    Fossil crowns massive rabbit 'king' 2011

  • Britain, on the one hand, had reduced its army to 18,000 men after 1748, including garrisons at Minorca and Gibraltar and half a dozen understrength “independent companies” in the West Indies and on the American mainland.

    George Washington’s First War David A. Clary 2011

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