What is the major term in a conclusion?

• A. The subject of the conclusion
• B. The middle term
• C. The minor term
• D. The predicate of the conclusion

Answer: (D)

In a categorical syllogism, the major term is the term that functions as the predicate in the conclusion. The conclusion makes a claim about the subject by saying something of the subject’s property, and that property is the major term. So in a conclusion of the form All S are P (or No S are P, etc.), the major term is P—it's what is being ascribed to the subject.

For example: All cats are mammals; All mammals are animals; therefore All cats are animals. Here the subject of the conclusion is cats (the minor term) and the predicate is animals (the major term). The middle term is mammals, which appears in both premises but not in the conclusion.