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==Origin==
The first division was originally known as a "prime minute", from Latin "''(pars) minuta prima''", meaning "first minute (i.e. small) part (or division)" of the hour. Likewise, the [[second]] was known as a "second minute", meaning "the second small division" of the hour.



{{wiktionarypar|minute}}
==References==
==References==
{{Nofootnotes|date=February 2008}}
{{Nofootnotes|date=February 2008}}

Revision as of 16:17, 18 October 2008

A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle.

The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. Some rare minutes have 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit, however it is accepted for use with SI units.

The symbol for minute or minutes is min.

The fact that an hour contains 60 minutes is probably due to influences from the Babylonians, who used a base-60 or sexagesimal counting system.




References