minute English · revision 3210

+ English has two words spelled ''minute'', both from Latin minūtus “small”: the noun, /ˈmɪn.ɪt/, a sixtieth of an hour, which came through Medieval Latin, and the adjective, /maɪˈnjuːt/, “very small”.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000)

+

+ {{homograph|1|sixtieth of an hour}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1377|origins=la minuere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmɪn.ɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The sixtieth of an hour is [[inh|enm|minute]],^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|minut]] or directly [[bor|la-med|minūta|t=minute of time; short note]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) short for [[m|la-med|pars minūta prīma|t=first small part]],^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988)^(COED 2004) from [[la|minūta|t=a small portion]], the feminine of [[m|la|minūtus|t=small]], the past participle of [[m|la|minuere|t=to lessen, diminish]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) from [[ine-pro|*mei-|t=small]].^(Etymonline) Ptolemy used pars minuta prima for a sixtieth of a circle, later a sixtieth of an hour, and the next division, secunda minuta, gave [[second]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A sixtieth of an hour or of a degree: 1377,^(OED 1989) or about 1378 in a version of ''Piers Plowman''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “A short space of time, a moment” is from the late 14th century (1390),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and a particular instant from 1598.^(OED 1989) A coin of little value, a mite, from 1382, is obsolete.^(OED 1989) A rough draft or memorandum is from 1443,^(Barnhart 1988) probably from the medieval Latin minuta, a draft in small writing as distinct from the fair copy,^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) and the ''minutes'' of a meeting developed from it about 1710.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, “to record in the minutes”, is from the noun.^(Hoad 1986)^(AHD) The ''minute hand'' is from 1726,^(Etymonline) and the ''minuteman'', a militiaman ready at short notice, is American English from 1774.^(Barnhart 1988) A distance measured by the minutes needed to travel it is from 1886.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) ''Minute steak'' is from 1934.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1377 – a sixtieth of an hour.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1390 – a moment.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1443 – a memorandum.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1710 – the minutes of a meeting.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1726 – ''minute hand''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1774 – ''minuteman''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1886 – a distance in minutes.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A unit of time equal to sixty [[second|alt=seconds]], or one sixtieth of an [[hour]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A short time; a moment: ''wait a minute''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A unit of [[angle]] equal to one sixtieth of a [[degree]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(plural)'' An official record of what was said at a meeting.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # A short note or memorandum.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To record in the minutes of a meeting.^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[minute hand]]

+ * [[minuteman]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|very small}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1420|origins=la minuere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /maɪˈnjuːt/, US /maɪˈnuːt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective is [[bor|la|minūtus|t=little, small]], the past participle of [[m|la|minuere|t=to lessen, diminish]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[ine-pro|*mei-|t=small]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[minor]] and is a doublet of [[menu]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “Chopped small”: about 1420,^(OED 1989) or the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline) now obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) Barnhart dates the adjective “very small” to 1472, in the Rolls of Parliament.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of taxes, “lesser”, as in ''minute tithes'', is from 1464 and obsolete.^(OED 1989) “Very small in size or degree, petty” is from the late 15th century,^(Etymonline) and “closely precise or exact” from the 1680s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1420 – chopped small.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1464 – of taxes, lesser.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1472 – very small.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1680s – very precise.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Extremely small; [[tiny]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Of little importance; [[insignificant]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Very careful and detailed: ''a minute examination''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[minutely]]

+ * [[minuteness]]

+ * [[minutiae]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[minor]]

+ * [[minus]]

+ * [[diminish]]

+ * [[menu]]

+ * [[mince]]

+ * [[second]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}