Definition: Minute
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)
- A unit of time which is one sixtieth of an hour (sixty seconds).
- You have twenty minutes to complete the test.
- 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.
- (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.
- 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.
- A point in time; a moment.
- A nautical or a geographic mile.
- An old coin, a half farthing.
- (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)
- Of an event, to write in a memo or the minutes of a meeting.
- I'll minute this evening's meeting.
- 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)
- Very small.
- They found only minute quantities of chemical residue on his clothing.
- Very careful and exact, giving small details.
- The lawyer gave the witness a minute examination.
Credits
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