n. 1 a sixtieth of a minute of time or angular distance. °Symb.:'. 2 the SI unit of time, based on the natural periodicity of the caesium atom. °Abbr.: s. 3 colloq. a very short time (wait a second). second hand an extra hand in some watches and clocks, recording seconds.
[ F f. med.L secunda (minuta) secondary (minute) ]