▪ I. minute, n.1
(ˈmɪnɪt)
Forms: 4 mynut, 4–6 mynute, 4–7 minut, 5 mynwt, mynnate, 6 mynite, -ewte, -iute, Sc. minuth, munet, -it, 6–8 mynuit, 7 min-, mynutte, minit, minnite, 4– minute.
[In senses 1–3 and 6 a. F. minute fem. (whence G. minute, Du. minuut), ad. L. minūta, subst. use of the fem. of minūtus minute a. In senses 4 and 5 ad. L. minūtum (the neuter of the same adj.) used subst. in various applications in late Latin. Sp., Pg. and It. have minuto masc. (ad. L. minutum) in senses 1–3, but minuta (after Fr.) in sense 6.
Senses 1–2 (whence sense 3 is derived) represent the med.L. minuta, more fully pars minuta prima, denoting the 1/60 of a unit in the system of sexagesimal fractions (med.L. minutiæ physicæ), which, originally derived from Babylon, was used, like the modern decimals in scientific calculations as more easy to handle than ‘vulgar fractions’ (minutiæ simply). The lower denominations of the system were (partes minutæ) secundæ (our ‘seconds’), tertiæ, quartæ, etc., the understood denominators being the successive powers of 60. The system (ὁ τῆς ἑξηκοντάδος τρόπος) was recognized by Ptolemy (c 150 a.d.), who applied it to the degree (µοῖρα) of the circle, to the sixty sections into which he divided the radius, and to the day; the application of the system to the division of the hour is much later, perhaps not earlier than the 13th c. Ptolemy has no terms corresponding to the med.L. minutæ, secundæ, etc., but merely uses µέρος ‘part’ or ἑξηκοστόν ‘sixtieth’. The word minuta is referred to as a term of the ‘mathematici’ (app. meaning ‘minute’ of the circle) by St. Augustine De diversis Quæstt. octoginta tribus xlv, who also mentions minutæ minutarum, ‘minutes of minutes’ (see 2), i.e. seconds.
Sense 6 is from F. minute, though Littré has no example before 16th c., and the one quot. for med.L. minuta in this use is of date c 1500. The primary notion seems to be that of a rough copy in small writing (L. scriptura minuta) as distinguished from the ‘engrossed’ document.]
I. A sixtieth (or other definite part) of a unit.
1. a. The sixtieth part of an hour (divided into sixty seconds). In earlier use frequently † minute of an hour, † minute while. Also, one of the lines upon a dial which mark the minute spaces.
The minutum of early mediæval writers, which was one-tenth of an hour, has no historical connexion with this. For the system of time-reckoning to which it belongs, see atom n. 7.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xi. 372 He miȝte amende in a Minute while al þat mys standeth. Ibid. xvii. 228 Ysekeles in eueses þorw hete of þe sonne, Melteth in a mynut while to myst & to watre. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 9 For the lachesse Of half a Minut of an houre [= L. unius momenti tardacione]..He loste all that he hadde do. a 1485 Promp. Parv. 338/2 (MSS. K., S.) Minute of an howur, minuta. 1552 Lyndesay Monarche 6014 The small Minuth of one hour To thame salbe so gret dolour, Thay sall thynk thay haif done remane Ane thousand yeir in to that pane. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 797 Now at the latest minute of the houre, Grant vs your loues. 1591 ― 1 Hen. VI, i. iv. 54 Wherefore a guard of chosen Shot I had, That walkt about me euery Minute while. 1603 Owen Pembrokeshire i. (1892) 1 Our longest sommers daies must be of xvii houres and fortie three mynuttes longe. 1684 R. Waller Nat. Exper. 9 From 35, to 50 Drops [sc. of moist particles] have fallen in a Minute of an Hour. 1702 Lond. Gaz. No. 3844/1 The Great Guns were fired at a Minute's distance. 1817 T. L. Peacock Nightm. Abbey xv, The hour-hand passed the vii.—the minute-hand moved on;—it was within three minutes of the appointed time. 1843 Penny Cycl. XXVII. 107/1 There are other repeaters which also strike the minutes. |
b. Vaguely used for: A short space of time; also, a point of time, an instant, moment. Also in
phr. up to the minute, completely modern.
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 77 Every houre apointeth so, That no mynut therof was lore. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy (E.E.T.S.) 2817 Þe cok..of þe tyme a mynute wil not passe To warnen hem þat weren in þe place, Of þe tydes and sesoun of þe nyȝt. c 1485 Digby Myst. iv. 518, I myght not leve, nor endure On mynnate, bot I am sure The third day ryse shall hee. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. ii. 112 Content with Hermia? No, I do repent The tedious minutes I with her haue spent. c 1600 ― Sonn. xiv, Nor can I fortune to breefe mynuits tell; Pointing to each his thunder raine and winde. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. 80, I could not expect to find them at a minutes call. 1736 Ainsworth Lat. Dict., A minute [moment or instant], momentum, punctum temporis. 1795 tr. C. P. Moritz's Trav. 93 Composing a sermon..should not thus have been put off to the last minute. 1800 Lamb Let. to Manning 5 Oct., I have barely time to finish, as I expect her and Robin every minute. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxvii. 38 You, from your owner's gate never a minute away? 1898 F. Montgomery Tony 13 The train will be starting in a minute. 1913 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Dec. 9/2 Look at your Christmas shopping in this light... Don't put it off until the last minute. 1920 F. M. Ford Let. 27 July (1965) 117 Does ‘for a minute’ = ‘at present’? or that you wouldn't think for a minute of knowing our establishment? 1937 A. J. Cronin Citadel ix. 75 Doctor! I think you'd be interested in our new indexometer. It has a multiplicity of uses, is absolutely up to the minute..and the price is only two guineas. 1955 R. Macaulay Last Lett. to Friend (1962) 208 Having the two children made it fun; they loved every minute of it. 1956 E. S. Gardner D. A. takes Chance iii. 24 A very attractive young woman, vivacious, up to the minute, a thoroughly modern young woman. 1958 Spectator 22 Aug. 249/1 These ought to be worth a trial to give ballet that shake-up it badly needs. Not merely for Art's sake, but, any minute now, for the sake of the box office. 1972 Daily Tel. 26 Aug. 20/4 A good atmosphere helps me to do my best, and while at the minute it doesn't feel like an Olympic Games, I think I can psych myself up when the time comes. |
c. A particular instant of time; also
occas. the appointed or fitting moment.
the minute (that)..: as soon as.
| 1598 Shakes. Merry W. v. v. 1 The Windsor-bell hath stroke twelue: the Minute drawes-on. a 1640 Carew To A. L. 70 O love me, then, and now begin it, Let us not lose this present minute. a 1721 J. Keill Maupertius' Diss. (1734) 15 The Minute we recur to an Almighty Agent,..it should be said that such Laws imply a Contradiction. a 1745 Swift Direct. Serv., Gen. Wks. 1751 XIV. 11 He had but just that Minute stept out. 1799 Lamb Let. to Southey 20 Mar., My plan is but this minute come into my head. 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede i, I can't abide to see men throw away their tools i' that way the minute the clock begins to strike. |
d. A distance expressed in the number of minutes needed for it to be traversed (on foot, etc.).
| 1886 Taunt's New Map Thames (ed. 5) Advts. 45 Hotel..Adjoining the River, 3 minutes from Railway Station. 1907 Daily Chron. 18 Sept. 3/7 (Advt.), St. Pancras Station..is within a few minutes of the City. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 224 Can you send them by tram? Now?..—Certainly, sir. Is it in the city? —O, yes... Ten minutes. 1931 R. Campbell Georgiad i. 17 Up-to-date methods: breezy situation: And only twenty minutes from the station. 1934 G. B. Shaw On Rocks i. 203 The Isle of Cats... Down the river, Sir Arthur. Twenty minutes from your door by underground. 1962 J. G. Bennett Witness vii. 86, I went to his apartment, a few minutes from where we lived. |
2. Geom. (
Astr.,
Geog., etc.) The sixtieth part of a degree.
† minute of a minute: the sixtieth of a minute, a second.
The sign for minutes is {p}, thus 5° 8{p}
= five degrees eight minutes.
| c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. i. §8 A degree of a signe contieneth 60 minutes. 1549 Compl. Scot. vi. 50 The circle artic is xxiij degreis xxx munitis fra the pole artic. 1603 Owen Pembrokeshire (1892) 1 Longitude 17 degrees, and 20 minuttes west. Ibid., 52 degrees which is 40 mynuttes higher then that of the Cittie of London. 1652 Gaule Magastrom. 68 Those numbers and minutes, yea numbers of numbers and minutes of minutes (which Astrologicall Mathematicians pretend to work by). 1755 B. Martin Mag. Arts & Sci. i. x. 58 Each Degree is supposed to consist of 60 Minutes, thus marked ({p}). 1862 Bache Discuss. Magn. & Meteorol. Observ. ii. 9 The scale divisions have been converted into minutes of arc. |
3. a. Arch. The sixtieth or
occas. some other part of the
module. ?
Obs.| 1696 in Phillips. 1727–52 Chambers Cycl., Minute, in architecture, usually denotes the sixtieth, sometimes only the thirtieth part, or division of a module. [In recent Dicts.] |
b. Art. A unit of a scale of head measurement by which the proportions of the face may be regulated or defined; the forty-eighth part of the height of the human head. [So F.
minute.]
| 1875 T. Seaton Fret Cutting 132 Draw a line corresponding to the line within the oval, and divide this also into four equal parts. One of these parts must be subdivided into twelve parts, these are called minutes. Ibid. 133 The length of a head—from forehead to back—in a full-grown person, is three parts eight minutes for a man, and three parts eleven minutes for a woman. |
II. Something small.
† 4. A coin of trifling value; a ‘mite’.
Obs.| 1382 Wyclif Mark xii. 42 Tweye mynutis [Vulg. duo minuta, Gr. λεπτὰ δύο], that is, a ferthing. 1543 Becon Nosegay Ded. B j b, Yet let vs with the poore widowe of the Gospell at the leest gyue two minutes. 1589 J. Rider Bibl. Schol., A Minute or Q, which is halfe a farthing, minutum. |
† 5. Something minute or small.
a. pl. Little fishes, ‘small fry’ (
cf. menise).
b. A small particular, a detail; a minutia.
c. Something of small size or slight importance.
Obs.| 1598 Florio, Pesciolini, all manner of minutes, frye, or small fishes. 1626 B. Jonson Staple of N. i. v. 138 Let me heare from thee euery minute of Newes. a 1628 F. Grevil Sidney (1652) 90 That Heroicall design..how exactly soever projected, and digested in every minute. ― Alaham ii. Chorus ii. (1633) 39 When I propound in grosse, you minutes play. 1647 Jer. Taylor Lib. Proph. xvi. 213 And such are all the sects and all the pretences of Christians, but pieces and minutes of Christianity. 1654 ― Real Pres. 238 They have made it to be unintelligible, inexplicable, indefensible, in all their minuits and particularities. a 1660 Hammond Serm. (Prov. i. 22) (1664) 46 The last minute of my last particular. a 1670 [see migniardize]. |
III. 6. a. A rough draft (of something to be further elaborated); a note or memorandum for the direction of an agent or servant, or for preserving the memory of current transactions or events; a brief summary of events or transactions,
esp. (usually
pl.) the record of the proceedings at a meeting of an assembly, corporate body, society, company, committee, or the like.
† in minute: in the form of a minute or minutes.
minute of dissent, a minute recording a person's disagreement with something.
| 1502 in Lett. & Papers Rich. III & Hen. VII (Rolls) I. 147 He received a mynite of instructions. 1522 Clerk in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 314 The Pope..caused it [the mynute] to be staied, and an other minute to be made which was not sped bifor his death. 1531 Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) I. 340, I haue sent herein Inclosed the Mynewte with your Instruccions. 1640–1 Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 37 Ordaines James, the next Committie day, to produce the said minute of contract. 1682 Evelyn in Pepys' Diary, etc. (1879) VI. 140 These were only minutes relating to ampler pieces. 1697 in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Col. Ch. I. 52, I began to take their sense in minute as right as I could. c 1710 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 276 To him are added in the House of Commons also scribes or secretaryes which record and take minutes also. 1713 Pope Guard. No. 92 ¶8 It is my business whenever we meet to take minutes of the transactions. 1728 Morgan Algiers II. v. 316, I some where said my memory was treacherous; nor do I ever keep minutes. 1741 Middleton Cicero I. vi. 511 It was his custom to keep the minutes or rough draught of all his pleadings. 1771 P. Parsons Newmarket II. 187 My paper of heads or minutes perished in a different manner. 1776 in Archæol. (1789) IX. 365 That such curious communications..be extracted from the Minutes of the Society, and formed into an Historical Memoir. 1827 Scott Surg. Dau. i, Lawford drew up a proper minute of this transaction, by which he himself and Grey were named trustees for the child. 1851 Dickens Bill-sticking in Househ. Words II. 605 These are the minutes of my conversation with His Majesty, as I noted them down shortly afterwards. 1860 Motley Netherl. vii. (1868) I. 409 The minute of a letter to Elizabeth..was submitted to the ambassador. 1876 Grant Burgh Sch. Scotl. Pref. 8 The minutes of his town council. 1886 Kipling Departm. Ditties (ed. 2) 23 No longer Brown reverses Smith's appeals, Or Jones records his Minute of Dissent. 1890 Gross Gild Merch. I. 149 The minutes of both Companies were kept in the same book. 1930 Times 15 Mar. 7/1 All the members have signed the report, but Lord Ebbisham did so subject to a ‘minute of dissent’ which is attached to the main report. |
b. An official memorandum authorizing or recommending the pursuance of a certain course.
treasury minute: a minute or memorandum issued by the treasury.
| 1564 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 301 In terms of minute 27th November. 1783 Burke On Fox's East Ind. Bill Wks. IV. 75 In his minute of consultation, Mr. Hastings describes forcibly the consequences which arise [etc.]. 1798 Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1837) I. 9 A very able minute in the Secret department. 1817 Tierney in Parl. Deb. 768 That committee, by a Treasury minute of the 5th of April, 1816, was required to examine and report what offices had been created since the year 1793. 1845 M{supc}Culloch Taxation ii. v. (1852) 230 This fraudulent practice has been indirectly legitimated by a Treasury Minute of the 4th of August, 1840. 1863 H. Cox Instit. i. v. 29 The Bank of England..was directed to suspend cash payments by a Minute of Council. 1880 Gen. Adye in 19th Cent. No. 38. 694 Lord Napier..in a masterly minute pointed out the various evils of the whole system. |
† c. An agreement, precise understanding.
Obs.| 1720 Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 519 At Edinburgh I have come to a minute with the printer. |
d. Sc. Law. A memorandum of intention presented to the court by a party to a suit.
| 1848 Shand Pract. Crt. Sess. I. 343 note, A minute of abandonment of the cause, in such form as the following, is put into process. 1904 Dundee Advertiser 19 Nov. 7 Yesterday a minute was lodged in the Bill Chamber of the Court of Session stating that no answers are to be lodged to the note by the Free Church [etc.]. |
IV. 7. attrib. and
Comb., as
minute bell, the tolling of a bell at intervals of a minute, used as a sign of mourning or distress;
minute-book,
† (
a) a ‘book of short hints’ (J.); (
b) a book containing systematic records of the transactions of a society, court, or the like;
minute clock, a stop clock used in making tests of gas (Knight
Dict. Mech. 1884);
minute-flourish, a fanfare of trumpets sounded minute by minute;
minute-glass, a sand-glass that runs for a minute;
minute-gun, the firing of a gun at intervals of a minute, used as a sign of mourning or distress (also
attrib.);
minute-hand, the long hand of a time-piece which indicates the minutes;
† minute-jack (?
cf. jack n.1 6), one who changes his mind every moment, a fickle or changeable person;
minute jumper, an electric clock in which the hands move only at the end of each minute, the minute-hand moving over a whole minute at each step (
Cent. Dict. 1890);
† minute-line Naut., a log-line;
minute-lust, momentary desire;
minute mile (see
quot. 1867);
† minute-motion, the mechanism of the seconds hand of a watch;
minute-repeater, a watch which ‘repeats’ the minutes;
minute space, the duration of a minute;
minute steak (see
quot. 1934);
minute stroke, the measured ‘minutely’ stroke of an oar;
minute tide, (
a)
= minute while (see sense 1); (
b) (see
quot. 1865);
minute-to-minute attrib., from one minute to the next;
† minute-watch, a watch that distinguishes minutes of time or on the dial of which minutes are marked (also
† minute pendulum watch);
minute-wheel, the wheel that moves the minute-hand of a clock or watch; hence
minute-wheel nut,
pinion (see
quot. 1884);
† minute while (see sense 1);
minute-writing, the art or practice of recording minutes or administrative memoranda. Also
minuteman.
| 1827 Keble Chr. Y., 1st Sunday Advent xii, Faith's ear, with awful still delight, Counts them like *minute bells at night. |
| 1736 Ainsworth Lat. Dict., A *minute book, liber vel libellus memorialis. 1772 Ann. Reg. 66* The minute-book of recognizances belonging to the Lord Mayor's court. 1838 Act 1 & 2 Vict. c. 118 §22 The Minute Book of the Court of Session and Teind Court. 1904 Athenæum 24 Dec. 881/2 A ‘History of the Society of Apothecaries’,..compiled from the Minute-Books of the Society. |
| 1802 Mrs. Radcliffe Gaston de Blondev. Posth. Wks. 1826 I. 87 The trumpets, that charged so loud and shrill their *minet-flourishes. |
| 1626 Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 29 Turne vp the *minute glasse, obserue the hight. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 480 Minute and Half-minute glasses. |
| 1728 G. Carleton Mem. Eng. Officer 205 The first Guns that were fir'd from Gorge's battery were the *Minute-Guns for his Funeral. 1747 Gentl. Mag. XVII. 246/1 Minute guns were fired by the whole squadron. 1884 Times (Weekly ed.) 11 Apr. 2/3 The boom of the minute guns on the hill beyond could be heard above the funeral music of the bands. 1936 H. Nicolson Diary 28 Jan. (1966) 241 The King's funeral. I stay in..all morning and do not hear more than the minute-guns firing dolefully in the distance. 1970 Brewer's Dict. Phr. & Fable (rev. ed.) 714/2 A Minute gun, a signal of distress at sea, or a gun fired at the death of some distinguished person. |
| 1726 Swift Gulliver i. ii, He was amazed at..the Motion of the *Minute-Hand, which he could easily discern. 1892 E. Reeves Homeward Bound 184 Clock faces marking six, twelve, and twenty-four hours, mostly without minute hands. |
| 1607 Shakes. Timon iii. vi. 107 Cap and knee-Slaues, vapours, and *Minute Iackes. |
| 1644 *Minut-line [see log-line in log n.1 9]. 1696 Phillips, Log-line or Minute-line. |
| 1635 Quarles Embl. ii. xi. 106 The fleshly wanton, to obtaine His *minit-lust, will count it gaine To lose his freedome. |
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Minute mile, the sixtieth part of a degree of longitude or latitude. |
| 1684 T. Burnet Th. Earth ii. iv. 210 In a Watch,..you may have a fancy to have an Alarum added, or a *Minute-motion. |
| 1843 Penny Cycl. XXVII. 107/1 These by way of distinction are called *minute-repeaters. |
| 1621 Wither Motto A 8, I haue not of my selfe, the powre, or grace, To be, or not to be; one *minute-space. |
| 1934 Webster, *Minute steak, a small thin steak that can be quickly cooked. 1959 Good Food Guide 204 The grills..range from 6/6 (minute steak) to 9/6 (mixed grill, including vegetables). 1966 Listener 27 Jan. 134/3 The minute steak is the gastronomic symbol of the age. |
| 1833 Marryat P. Simple xxx, The crew dropped their oars into the water without a splash, and pulled the *minute stroke. |
| 14.. Ryman Poems in Archiv. Stud. neu. Spr. LXXXIX. 255 This lyfe vnto celestiall Is but a *mynute tyde. 1865 Macgregor Rob Roy in Baltic (1867) 163 This is called the ‘minute tide’, in which a swelling of the water once every minute fills up and empties again a quiet pool a little withdrawn from the river's course. |
| 1948 ‘G. Orwell’ in Adelphi XXIV. 249/2 One ought, apparently, to live in a continuous present, a *minute-to-minute cancellation of memory. 1968 G. M. B. Dobson Exploring Atmosphere (ed. 2) v. 105 In practice certain precautions have to be taken to allow for the minute-to-minute changes in the general electric field. |
| 1660 Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. xi. 79 A *Minute-Watch we kept by us on this occasion. 1705 Daily Courant 5 Sept., Dropt in St. James's Park, September the 3rd, 1705, a Gold Minuit Pendulum Watch, &c. |
| 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) V. 74/2 The minute and hour hands turn on the end of the arbor of the *minute-wheel. 1884 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 177 [The] Minute Wheel Pinion, or ‘Nut’..[is] the pinion in the motion work of watches that drives the hour wheel. |
| 1895 Daily News 10 Sept. 5/4 An Under-Secretary, trained in a bureaucracy where *minute-writing has been brought to the highest pitch of perfection. |
▪ II. † minute, n.2 Law.
Obs. [ad. Law Latin minūta, vbl. noun f. minuĕre to diminish.] = minishing.
| 1495 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 501/1 Of the Ferme of all Asartis, Wastes, Purpresture and minutez, of the parcelles of the Forest. |
▪ III. minute, a. (
mɪˈnjuːt,
maɪˈnjuːt)
Also 5–6
mynute.
[ad. L. minūt-us (whence F. menu small), pa. pple. of minuĕre to make small, diminish.] † 1. Chopped small.
Obs. rare.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 492 Hem summe in cedur scobe, & summe in stre Mynute, and summe in smal chaf, wel witholde. |
† 2. Of imposts, etc.: Lesser;
esp. in
minute tithes = ‘small tithes’.
Obs.| [1464 Rolls of Parlt. V. 569/1 Sume ferme by the name of the Manent' firme com' post terras dat'..and sume under the name of minute firme to you.] 1542–3 Act 34 & 35 Hen. VIII, c. 16 §1 The fermes of diuers purprestures, assertes, sergeantes, & minute rentes. 1546 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 222 The preste..hathe the mynute tythes of the village of Bysshopton. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. iv. §38 The Dependence of the Church,..(except their minute Tythes) was entirely upon this Law. 1696 Phillips, Minute Tithes, small Tithes, such as usually belong to the Vicar; as Wooll, Lambs, Piggs, Butter, Cheese, Eggs, Honey, &c. |
3. Very small in size, extent, amount, or degree.
In the 17th and 18th centuries the comparative
minuter frequently acquires the sense ‘smaller or more insignificant than another’, without the implication of extreme smallness.
| a 1626 Bacon New Atl. 40 Wee haue also Glasses and Meanes, to see Small and Minute Bodies, perfectly and distinctly. 1665 Phil. Trans. I. 31 An Instrument to shew all the Minute Variations in the pressure of the Air. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 39 Those [chapels] of a minuter dimension were open. 1699 Pomfret Cruelty & Lust 79 Suppose the Accusation justly brought, And clearly prov'd to the minutest fault. 1713 Derham Phys.-Theol. iv. ii. 106 One single Minutest Thread or Fibre. 1742 Young Nt. Th. vi. 690 With this minute distinction,..Nature revolves, but man advances. 1748 Anson's Voy. i. v. 43 The neighbouring coast, and the minuter isles adjacent. Ibid. ii. x. 237 Vast quantities of..callicoes and chints,..together with other minuter articles, as goldsmiths work, etc. 1816 Bentham Chrestom. 24 The distance in question is so minute as to be incapable of measurement. 1832 Babbage Econ. Manuf. (ed. 3) 83 The minuter cavities can only be filled under an exhausted receiver. 1867 H. Macmillan Bible Teach. vi. (1870) 118 The seed vessels in this plant are exceedingly minute. 1871 Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1879) I. i. 23 What is true of the earth..is also true of her minutest atom. 1880 Geikie Phys. Geog. ii. 57 It is possible to measure very minute changes of temperature. |
4. Of very little consequence or importance; trifling, petty.
Minute philosopher is an echo of Cicero's
quidam minuti philosophi (De Senect. xxiii, also De
Div. i. xxx), where the
adj. appears to have this sense, though in
Eng. use it is sometimes apprehended as if belonging to sense 5.
| c 1650 Denham Old Age iv. 249 Some minute Philosophers pretend, That with our dayes our pains and pleasures end. 1668 Wilkins Real Char. To Rdr., If any shall suggest that some of the Enquiries here insisted upon..do seem too minute and trivial, for any prudent Man to bestow his serious thoughts and time about. Such Persons may know [etc.]. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. i. §10 These minute philosophers..are a sort of pirates who plunder all that come in their way. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. ix. 396 The Mandarine..returned all that had been stolen..even to the minutest trifle. 1772 Burke Corr. (1844) I. 377 Your grace dissipates your mind into too great a variety of minute pursuits. 1872 W. Minto Eng. Prose Lit. ii. iii. 279 As Lord Chancellor,..he proved unequal to the minuter duties of the office. |
5. Of investigations, regulations, records, etc. (and hence of persons): Characterized by attention to very small matters or details; very precise or particular; very accurate.
| 168. Aubrey Lives, Hobbes To Rdr. (1813) I. 594 For that I am so minute, I declare I never intended it [etc.]. 1716 Addison Freeholder No. 42 ¶14 We cannot be too minute and circumstantial in accounts of this nature. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 86 ¶5 He knew with how minute Attention the ancient Criticks considered the Disposition of Syllables. 1788 Reid Aristotle's Log. iv. ii. 71 He is more full, more minute and particular than any of them. 1799 Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1837) I. 25 His minute private diary. 1807 T. Thomson Chem. (ed. 3) II. 383 A very minute and accurate series of experiments. 1833 H. Martineau Brooke Farm i. 10 A reporter as faithful as he was minute. 1864 Pusey Lect. Daniel (1876) 376 A minute, natural, accurate, history. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 96 Minute regulations are apt to be transgressed. |
▪ IV. minute, v. (
ˈmɪnɪt)
[f. minute n.1] 1. trans. To ascertain or determine to the minute the time, duration, or rate of; to ‘time’ accurately. Also
† to minute out: to assign (time) precisely.
| 1605 Camden Rem. 92 About the yeare of our Lord 1000 (that we may not minute out the time). a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Suffolk iii. (1662) 62 All Accidents are minuted and momented by Divine Providence. 1762 Phil. Trans. LII. 582 The above observations were minuted from a stop-watch of Mr. Ellicott's. 1773 G. White Selborne 8 July (1789) 153, I have minuted these birds with my watch for an hour together,..they return..about once in five minutes. 1775 Ibid. 1 Nov. 198 A good rush,..being minuted, burnt only three minutes short of an hour. 1784 Blagden in Phil. Trans. LXXIV. 217 Scarcely any one had sufficient presence of mind to minute the time by his watch. 1813 M. Edgeworth Patron. (1832) I. iii. 42 [They] went to see High Blood rubbed down..exercised and minuted. 1822 Beddoes Brides' Trag. ii. iii, Do not minute The movements of the soul. 1825 Sporting Mag. XV. 340, I did not minute this run, but..it must have been a trimming one. 1862 Smiles Engineers III. 277 Captain Scoresby,..minuted the speed of the train. 1888 Temple Bar Jan. 29 The Bishop..sat by with his watch on the table, for he had to minute each interview. |
2. a. To draft (a document, a scheme); to record in a minute or memorandum; to enter in the minutes or records of a society, company, or the like; to make a minute of the contents of (a document).
to minute down, to make a note of.
| a 1648 Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 48 All which minuted by Louis de Longueville..was at last thus fully concluded. Ibid. 84 The design for the Interview with Francis continued; which being minuted by our Ambassador,..was continued by his successor. 1662 Evelyn Chalcogr. 94 It might not seem requisite to minute the works which he has published. 1711 Lond. Gaz. No. 4842/3 All such disabled Seamen and Marines as are minuted to be taken into the said Hospital. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 439 ¶3 The Cardinal is represented as minuting down every thing that is told him. 1778 W. H. Marshall Minutes Agric., Observ. 153 note, I minuted it as an extra observation. 1789 Franklin Ess. Wks. 1840 II. 151 Nothing was concluded [sc. at the next meeting] so as to be minuted. 1836 H. Rogers J. Howe v. (1863) 141 His thoughts on this occasion he minuted down. 1876 Bancroft Hist. U.S. IV. xxvi. 19 The Empress of Russia with her own hand minuted an edict for universal tolerance. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. II. ii. xlviii. 228 A Town-clerk, who keeps the records, and minutes the proceedings of the meeting. 1897 P. Warung Tales Old Regime 139 Yes, your Excellency. Shall I minute that observation? 1898 G. W. E. Russell Coll. & Recoll. xxxiv. 465 The paper..is minuted by each, and..gradually passes up..to the Under-Secretary of State. |
| absol. 1892 Ld. Lytton King Poppy i. 351 Whereon His Majesty thus minuted. |
b. To inform (someone) about a matter by means of a minute or memorandum.
| 1918 G. S. Gordon Let. 13 Dec. (1943) 87 Milford has minuted me about the Oxford Trivium. 1952 Punch 10 Sept. 353 He had minuted General Ismay. 1964 M. Gowing Britain & Atomic Energy v. 174 Lord Cherwell was still minuting Mr Churchill that the British diffusion method was much superior. 1974 ‘J. Le Carré’ Tinker Tailor xxvi. 221 In no case should I phone him or minute him; even the internal lines were taboo. |
3. to minute over: to reckon up, enumerate point by point.
| a 1770 Cath. Talbot Lett. (1808) 60 The most agreeable thought (as I experienced last night when we were minuting over all these things) will be, that it cannot be long [etc.]. |
4. intr. With
by: To pass minute by minute.
| a 1806 H. K. White To Thought v, And count the tedious hours, as slow they minute by. |
Hence
ˈminuting vbl. n., the recording of minutes;
ˈminuting ppl. a., that minutes.
| 1737 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. ii. iii. (ed. 33) 121 Minuting-clerk to Master General. 1856 Dickens Dorrit (1857) ii. viii. 387 The work of form-filling, corresponding, minuting, memorandum-making. 1882 London Police Court Rep., Those having the minuteing and the carrying out of the details and business of the Court. |