major-college
UK[ˈmeɪdʒə ˈkɒlɪdʒ]US[ˈmeɪdʒər ˈkɑːlɪdʒ]
n
A college within a university that a student attends for their primary field of study.
n
(informal) The main college or academic division one is enrolled in, as opposed to a minor or secondary affiliation.
Morpheme Breakdown
major
college
major
greater
college
institution of higher learning
Etymology
The compound term 'major-college' is a modern construction that combines two words of Latin origin to specify a primary academic affiliation. 'Major', from Latin 'maior' meaning "greater," evolved through French to signify something of primary importance or larger size, and in an academic context, it denotes a student's principal field of study. 'College', from Latin 'collegium' meaning "community" or "society," historically referred to a body of colleagues and later to an educational institution. When combined, the term logically follows the pattern of 'major' modifying 'college' to indicate the main or greater academic unit within a university system to which a student belongs, as opposed to a secondary or minor college.
Analysis
Structure: major (greater) + college (institution of higher learning)
major: From Latin 'maior' (greater, larger), comparative of 'magnus' (great, large). Functions as an adjective used attributively to denote the primary or more important one.
college: From Latin 'collegium' (community, society, guild), from 'collega' (partner in office). Functions as a noun denoting an institution for higher education or a constituent part of a university.
Examples
After completing his general education requirements, he was formally admitted to his major-college to begin advanced coursework in engineering.
Her university email address is based on her major-college, not the residential college where she lives.
Switching your major often requires applying to and being accepted by a new major-college within the university.