Definition: Minute

From New World Encyclopedia

Etymology 1

From Middle English mynute, minute, mynet, from Old French minute, from Medieval Latin minūta (sixtieth of an hour). Doublet of menu and menudo.

Noun

minute (plural minutes)

  1. A unit of time which is one sixtieth of an hour (sixty seconds).
    You have twenty minutes to complete the test.
  2. A unit of angle equal to one-sixtieth of a degree.
    We need to be sure these maps are accurate to within one minute of arc.
  3. (chiefly in the plural, minutes) A (usually formal) written record of a meeting or a part of a meeting.
    Let’s look at the minutes of last week’s meeting.
  4. A unit of purchase on a telephone or other similar network, especially a cell phone network, roughly equivalent in gross form to sixty seconds' use of the network.
    If you buy this model, you’ll get a hundred free minutes.
  5. A point in time; a moment.
  6. A nautical or a geographic mile.
  7. An old coin, a half farthing.
  8. (architecture) A fixed part of a module.

Derived terms

  • minute hand
  • minute man

Verb

minute (third-person singular simple present minutes, present participle minuting, simple past and past participle minuted)

  1. Of an event, to write in a memo or the minutes of a meeting.
    I'll minute this evening's meeting.
  2. To set down a short sketch or note of; to jot down; to make a minute or a brief summary of.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin minūtus (small, petty), perfect passive participle of minuŠ(make smaller).

Adjective

minute (comparative minuter or more minute, superlative minutest or most minute)

  1. Very small.
    They found only minute quantities of chemical residue on his clothing.
  2. Very careful and exact, giving small details.
    The lawyer gave the witness a minute examination.

Credits

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