mayor
bigger, older
Refers to something greater in size, age, or importance
Encoding Strategies:
linguistic
major
greater, more important
Mayor means bigger or older and is a direct cognate of the English word major0, meaning greater in importance. Both words express the idea of being greater, whether in importance, size, or age.
mayor
bigger, biggest (size)
Describes something that is greater in size.
Esta ciudad tiene una población mayor que la nuestraThis city has a bigger population than ours
El mayor océano del mundo es el PacíficoThe largest ocean in the world is the Pacific
older, oldest (age)
Describes someone who is greater in age.
Mi hermana mayor vive en Buenos AiresMy older sister lives in Buenos Aires
Con 101 años, era el mayor del puebloAt 101 years old, he was the oldest in the village
main, principal, chief, major (importance)
Describes the main or principal thing in a group, just like how a "major" event is the most important one.
La plaza mayor es el corazón del puebloThe main square is the heart of the town
Eso es un problema mayorThat is a major problem
major (military rank)
The military rank of major, the "greater" officer above a captain.
El mayor dio las órdenes antes del amanecerThe major gave the orders before dawn
al por mayor
wholesale
When you sell something wholesale or in bulk, you sell it "by the greater" amount, or por mayor. This then got turned into a noun, el por mayor method, which when finally combined with a, points toward the manner or method in which something is bought or sold.
Compramos frutas al por mayor para el restauranteWe buy fruit wholesale for the restaurant