Minute: The words 'minute,' 'minister,'… | etymologist.ai
minute
/ˈmɪnɪt/·noun·c. 1380, in the astronomical sense of a sixtieth of a degree, in translations of Latin astronomical texts·Established
Origin
From Latin 'pars minuta prima' (first small part) — the sexagesimal subdivision used in Ptolemy's astronomy — 'minute' entered English c.1380 as 1/60 of an hour, while the adjective meaning 'tiny' arrived separately from the same Latin root minuere, 'to diminish.'
Definition
A unit of time equal to sixty seconds, or one sixtieth of an hour, derived from Medieval Latin pars minuta prima ('first small part') of the sexagesimal division of the hour.
The Full Story
LatinMedieval Latin, 14th centurywell-attested
The English word 'minute' derives from Medieval Latin 'minuta', a shortening of the phrase 'pars minuta prima' (first small part), a term coined within the tradition of Babylonian sexagesimal (base-60) mathematics as transmitted through Hellenistic and Arabic astronomy. The Latin adjective 'minuta' comes from 'minutus', the past participle of 'minuere' (to lessen, diminish, make small), from the Proto-Indo-European root *mei- meaning 'small, little, to diminish'. Ptolemy (2nd century CE) used the Greek term 'lepta prota' (first small parts
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The words 'minute,' 'minister,' 'menu,' and 'minuet' all share the same Latin root — minuere, to diminish. A minister was literally 'the lesser one' (as opposed to a magister, the greaterone), a menu was a small detailed list, and the minuet dance was named for its dainty, small steps. So every time a government minister presents a menu at a state dinner, three unrelated-seeming words are quietly reuniting around the same ancient idea of smallness.
of the 12th century, used 'minuta' for the first sexagesimal subdivision. The word entered English in the late 14th century, first attested around 1380, initially in the astronomical
Latin 'minor' (smaller), 'minus' (less), 'minimum' (smallest), Greek 'meion' (less), Sanskrit 'miyate' (is lessened). Related English derivatives include 'minor', 'minus', 'minimum', 'minuscule', 'minister' (etymologically 'one who serves in a lesser capacity'), 'mince', 'menu', and 'minuet'. The adjective 'minute' meaning 'very small' entered English separately in the 15th century directly from Latin 'minutus'. Key roots: *mei- (Proto-Indo-European: "small, little; to lessen or diminish"), minuere (Latin: "to make smaller, lessen, diminish"), minuta (Medieval Latin: "a small part; first sexagesimal subdivision (of a degree or hour)").