minute
min·ute (min′it)
noun
- the sixtieth part of any of certain units; specif.,
- of an hour; sixty seconds
- of a degree of an arc; sixty seconds: symbol, ′
- a very short period of time; moment; instant
- a specific point in time
- a measure of the distance usually covered in a minute five minutes from downtown
- a note or memorandum
- an official record of what was said and done at a meeting, convention, etc.
Etymology: OFr < ML minuta < L (pars) minuta (prima), (first) small (part), term used by Ptolemy for the sixtieth part of a unit in his system of fractions (of the circle, radius, day, later applied also to the hour): see minute
the minute (that)
up to the minute
mi·nute (mī no̵̅o̅t′, -nyo̵̅o̅t′; mi-)
adjective
- very small; tiny
- of little importance or significance; petty; trifling
- of, characterized by, or attentive to tiny details; exact; precise
Etymology: ME < L minutus, little, small, pp. of minuere, to lessen, diminish < minor: see minor
Related Forms:
- minuteness mi·nute′·ness noun
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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