I. min·ute ˈminə̇t, usu -ə̇d.+V noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin minuta minute, 60th part of an hour, brief note, from Late Latin, 60th part of a degree, from Latin, feminine of minutus small — more at minute III
1.
a. : a unit of time equal to the 60th part of an hour and containing 60 seconds
b. : a point or short space of time : moment
these letters didn't get here a minute too soon — Kenneth Roberts
the train will be starting in a minute — Florence Montgomery
c. : a particular instant of time
wash … all sieves the minute you are through using them — June Platt
my plan is but this minute come into my head — Charles Lamb
d. : the difference that can be traversed in a minute
five minutes across the park … are Spanish-speaking slums — Irwin Edman
2. or minute of arc
[Middle English, from Late Latin minuta ]
: a unit of angular measure equal to the 60th part of a degree and containing 60 seconds of arc
3.
[Medieval Latin minuta ]
a. : a usually brief note of instructions, recommendations, or record in the form of an annotation on an existing document or of a separate memorandum
b. : an official memorandum drafted (as by an individual or a governmental agency) usually to authorize or recommend a course of action or to analyze a particular situation
the position of civil servants … was previously regulated by a Treasury minute — T.E.May
the governor … forwarded a ministerial minute , expressing alarm — Ethel Drus
the whole question was reviewed … in a masterly minute by the Viceroy — L.J.L.Dundas
c.
(1) : a brief summary of events or transactions
began to take their sense in minute as right as I could — W.S.Perry
unity of judgment enough to warrant a minute of conclusion — Rufus Jones
(2) minutes plural : a series of brief notes taken to provide a record of proceedings (as of an assembly or conference) or of transactions (as of the directors of a corporation) ; specifically : an official record composed of such notes
the minutes of the … conference are not available to the public — Vera M. Dean
a complete copy of the minutes of the … presbytery — American Guide Series: Tennessee
d. : a rough draft usually constituting a preliminary stage of a more elaborate project
the minute of a letter … was submitted to the ambassador — J.L.Motley
e.
(1) : a written statement addressed to a court under Scots law referring to some interlocutory matter (as a defect in pleading or a point of law)
(2) : an answer to such a statement embodying the court's order and the grounds of the order
4.
[Late Latin minutum, from Latin, neuter of minutus small]
obsolete : a very small or insignificant thing : a minute detail
5. : a fixed part (as 1/12, 1/18, 1/30, 1/60) of a module
•
- up to the minute
II. minute transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to determine to the minute : ascertain or note exactly the time, speed, or duration of : time
minuted the speed of the train — Samuel Smiles
2.
a. : to write (something) in or in the form of a minute
the Empress … minuted an edict for universal tolerance — George Bancroft
b. : to make a note (as of instructions, comment, or record) on
minute a dispatch
c. : to make notes or a brief summary of : record in the form of minutes
in conversations … duly minuted on both sides — M.O.Hudson
minutes the proceedings of the meeting — James Bryce
III. mi·nute (ˈ)mī|n(y)üt, mə̇ˈn-, usu -üd.+V adjective
( usually -er/-est )
Etymology: Latin minutus small, minute, past participle of minuere to lessen — more at minor
1. : very small in size : tiny , infinitesimal
two minute , whiplike threads of protoplasm — W.E.Swinton
irrigation … could be applied only to minute areas — P.E.James
minute amounts of … impurities are introduced into chemically pure silicon — Wall Street Journal
2. : of very small importance or consequence : trifling , petty
the law … may extend to the minutest phases of the life of the individual — C.L.Jones
small-scale … almost one might say minute capitalists — J.H.Plumb
explaining all the minute happenings of the ranch — Mary Austin
3. : marked by close attention to and meticulous exactness in the treatment of very small parts or details
made a minute scientific examination of the bullets — W.H.Wright
the land is … cultivated with minute care — Owen & Eleanor Lattimore
a division in the tapestry so artfully constructed as to defy the minutest inspection — Jane Austen
Synonyms: see circumstantial , small