Language Arts The confusion between minor and miner is an example of an issue stemming from homophonic endings -er and -or. We’ll look at the ending situation in order to provide a larger context in which to better understand how to differentiate the two words.

The miner sang a song in a minor key.

-er

The ending -er is very popular. First, it is the comparative ending for many adjectives and adverbs, and in this role, it works like this:

green - >greener

pure - >purer

happy - >happier

You can see that there are some changes to accommodate the ending to the words. Nevertheless, in each case, the final two letters of the word are  -er.

The ending -er also is used to create nouns from verbs. You can think of it as the ending -er being added to the infinitive form without the particle to, like this:

mine - >miner A miner is someone who or something that mines.

The noun miner can refer to someone who or something that brings minerals or ore out of the earth or a soldier with special training in mining operations. Miner came into English through Middle English from Old French, and had its origins in the Vulgar Latin word mina which is related to the Welsh word for “ore,” mwyn. Miner is pronounced /MY nuhr/.

There are a large number of words in English that follow this pattern:

baker	biter	boater	caller
catcher	choker	diner	faker
fighter	floater	hacker	hitter
knitter	liner	maker	packer
preacher	quitter	sitter	taker
teacher	voter	watcher	whiner

In each case, the meaning is “a person or thing who (whatever the verb is).” A faker is someone who fakes things and a quitter is someone who quits.

Third, there are some other English words that fit neither pattern but for some etymological reason end in -er, like letter and litter.

-or

The ending -or is found less that -er, but has some similarity of use. It can be used to mean “someone or something that does (whatever the verb is).” Some examples are:

abductor	abettor	accelerator	conductor
conjuror	constrictor	elector	grantor
impersonator	interrupter	jailor	objector
operator	sailor	surveyor

There are other words that end in -or such as demeanor, valor, and pallor that do not fit this pattern. Minor is another such.

Minor can be an adjective, noun, or intransitive verb. As an adjective it can mean “lesser in size, amount, extent, or importance or rank.” It can also characterize someone who has not reached legal age or a secondary focus of academic studies in college. In music, it refers to certain patterns of music and scales and in this context, it is often contrasted with major scales and patterns.

As a noun, most of the meanings of minor are related to the adjectival meanings. It can mean “one who or that is lesser in comparison with others,” “one who has not reached legal age,” “a secondary area of study in college or one undertaking such a study,” “a musical key, scale, or interval that is minor,” and in sports, the plural form can be used to refer to the minor leagues of sports teams, most often baseball. As an intransitive verb, minor means “to undertake and/or pursue a secondary area of studies in college.” Minor comes from a Latin word meaning “smaller” or “inferior.” It is pronounced /MY nuhr/.

Differentiating Minor and Miner

Here are two different approaches that may help you to differentiate minor and miner. One is to use the following mnemonics. For miner, connect the word with the root mine: a miner mines in a mine. For minor, keep in mind the contrasting pair, major and minor. They both end in -or, and that lets you know which form to use for music, academic studies, and young people who have not yet reached the age of majority.

A second way to remember the differences between miner and minor is to put them in the context of other homophonic -er/-or pairs. Here are some key members of the group (not all meanings are given):

caster	person who casts; small wheel for moving furniture (also spelled castor)
castor	oily substance from a beaver, used in perfumery
censer	container for burning incense
censor	ancient Roman official; officer of the armed forces with the power to keep sensitive information out of publications
better	comparative of good and well
bettor	someone who places bets
canter	a moderate galloping pace
cantor	singer who leads congregations in a church or synagogue
miner	one who or that mines
minor	not major in reference to age, importance, scales, or academic study
prier	one who pries
prior	coming before; the head of a priory
razer	something that razes or tears down
razor	instrument for shaving
saver	someone who saves or preserves
savor	to appreciate with delight