Minute and Minute Are Spelled Alike and Said Differently
A minute is sixty seconds. The adjective meaning tiny is the same word, from Latin for made small.
A minute is sixty seconds, and pronounced MIN-it. Spelled identically, *minute* meaning extremely small is pronounced my-NEWT — and they are the same word. Latin *minutus* means made small: the minute was the first small division of an hour, and the second was the *second* small division, which is where its name comes from.
- Sixty seconds. *Five minutes.*
- Extremely small. *A minute quantity.*
- A record of a meeting. *The minutes were approved.*
- A unit of angle. *Sixty minutes of arc.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | minute | One minute. |
| Plural | minutes | Ten minutes. |
| Adjective | minute | A minute detail. |
| Plural noun | minutes | Meeting minutes. |
| Related | minutiae | Endless minutiae. |
How it is used in a sentence
- A minute examination of the evidence.my-NEWT: detailed.
- The second is the second small part.Of an hour.
- Take the minutes of the meeting.A written record.
Words from *minutus*, made small
- Minute — a small division of an hour
- Second — the second such division
- Minutiae — small details
- Diminish — to make smaller
- Minus and minor — from the same family meaning less
From Latin *minuta*, from *minutus*, made small, from *minuere*, to lessen. The meeting sense comes from notes written small.
Why is a second called a second?
Because it is the second small division of an hour. The minute is the first, and the Latin phrase was *pars minuta secunda*.
Why do meeting notes have the same name?
Probably from being written in small or abbreviated form, from the same Latin word for small.