Where does “minute” come from?

minute (German) comes from Latin minūtus, from Proto-Italic minwō, from Proto-Indo-European mēy- — soft, tender, dear.

minute (German): minute unit of time; unit of angle

Definitions

  1. minute unit of time; unit of angle

Ancestry of “minute”, step by step

minute traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Latin minūtus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinminūtusdiminished, having been diminished
2Proto-Italicminwō
3Proto-Indo-Europeanmēy-soft, tender, dear

via Late Latin minūta

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Late Latinminūta

Words derived from “minute

Every word from Proto-Indo-European mēy-