Definition:Minute
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Definition
Minute of Time
The minute is a derived unit of time.
- $1$ minute $= 60$ seconds.
Minute of Angle
The minute (of angle) is a measurement of plane angles, symbolized by $'$.
| \(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | minute | |||||||||||
| \(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 60\) | seconds | |||||||||||
| \(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds \dfrac 1 {60}\) | degree of angle (by definition) |
Minute of Arc
The minute (of arc) is a unit of measurement of the length of an arc of a circle.
It is defined as the length of the arc which subtends $1$ minute (of angle) at the center of the circle.
Linguistic Note
The word minute, in the context of the measurement both of time and of angle, derives from its initial definition as a minute part of an hour or of a degree of angle.
In this context the word minute (meaning: the aggregation of $60$ seconds) is pronounced min-it.
The word minute (as used in the phrase minute part) is pronounced my-nyoot and means small.
So the fact that the two words are spelt identically is not a coincidence.