Where does “minute” come from?
Minute comes from Latin minutus, the past participle of minuo meaning to lessen, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mey- meaning to diminish.
minute (English): A unit of time equal to sixty seconds; A short...
Definitions
- A unit of time equal to sixty seconds; A short...
Ancestry of “minute”, step by step
minute traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English mynute
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | mynute | minute; A sixtieth part; A coin of little worth |
| 2 | Old French | minute | minute one sixtieth of an hour |
| 3 | Latin | minuta | nominative feminine singular of minūtus;... |
| 4 | Latin | minūtus | diminished, having been diminished |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | minwō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | mēy- | soft, tender, dear |
via Old French minut
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | minut | — |