Etymologically
Log in

minimum

Etymology and origin of the English word minimum

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1646
Borrowed from
Latin minimum
Ultimate origin
Latin (minimus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈmɪn.ɪ.məm/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin minimum (“smallest (thing)”), the neuter of minimus (“smallest, least”),[2][3] earlier minumus,[3] the superlative of minor (“smaller”),[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *mei- (“small”).[2] The adjective is from the noun.[2][3] It is related to minor, minus, minimal and minimize.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The smallest portion into which matter is divisible, an atom, a sense now obsolete: 1663 in the OED and Barnhart,[4][3] the 1660s in Etymonline.[2] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1646.[5]

Semantic evolution

“The least amount attainable or allowable” is from 1676,[4][3] the 1670s in Etymonline.[2] In mathematics, a minimum value, it is from 1743,[4] and the lowest point reached by a varying quantity, such as temperature, from 1823.[4] The adjective, “of the smallest possible amount”, is from 1810, in Bentham;[2][3][4] minimal is from 1666 and minimize from 1802, also in Bentham.[3]

Timeline

  • 1646 – first known use.[5]
  • 1663 – an indivisible particle.[4][3]
  • 1676 – the least amount allowable.[4][3]
  • 1743 – in mathematics.[4]
  • 1810 – adjective.[2][3]
  • 1823 – the lowest point reached.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The least possible quantity or degree.
  2. The lowest amount reached or recorded.
  3. A lower limit set by law or authority.
  4. In mathematics, the smallest value of a function or set.

Adjective

  1. Of or representing the lowest amount or degree possible or allowed: minimum wage.

Word family

  • maximin
  • minimax
  • subminimum
  • minimum-security
  • minimum wage

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Minimum.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/minimum. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·