Minuscule
(Mi*nus"cule) n. [L. minusculus rather small, fr. minus less: cf. F. minuscule.]
1. Any very small, minute object.
2. A small Roman letter which is neither capital nor uncial; a manuscript written in such letters. — a. Of
the size and style of minuscules; written in minuscules.
These minuscule letters are cursive forms of the earlier uncials.
I. Taylor (The Alphabet). Minutary
(Min"u*ta*ry) a. Pertaining to, or consisting of, minutes. [Obs.] Fuller.
Minute
(Min"ute) n. [LL. minuta a small portion, small coin, fr. L. minutus small: cf. F. minute. See 4th
Minute.]
1. The sixtieth part of an hour; sixty seconds. (Abbrev. m.; as, 4 h. 30 m.)
Four minutes, that is to say, minutes of an hour.
Chaucer. 2. The sixtieth part of a degree; sixty seconds (Marked thus (&prime); as, 10° 20&prime).
3. A nautical or a geographic mile.
4. A coin; a half farthing. [Obs.] Wyclif (Mark xii. 42)
5. A very small part of anything, or anything very small; a jot; a tittle. [Obs.]
Minutes and circumstances of his passion.
Jer. Taylor. 6. A point of time; a moment.
I go this minute to attend the king.
Dryden. 7. The memorandum; a record; a note to preserve the memory of anything; as, to take minutes of a contract; to
take minutes of a conversation or debate.
8. (Arch.) A fixed part of a module. See Module.
Different writers take as the minute one twelfth, one eighteenth, one thirtieth, or one sixtieth part of the
module.
Minute
(Min"ute), a. Of or pertaining to a minute or minutes; occurring at or marking successive minutes.
Minute bell, a bell tolled at intervals of a minute, as to give notice of a death or a funeral. — Minute
book, a book in which written minutes are entered. — Minute glass, a glass measuring a minute or
minutes by the running of sand. — Minute gun, a discharge of a cannon repeated every minute as
a sign of distress or mourning. — Minute hand, the long hand of a watch or clock, which makes the
circuit of the dial in an hour, and marks the minutes.
Minute
(Min"ute), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Minuted; p. pr. & vb. n. Minuting.] To set down a short sketch
or note of; to jot down; to make a minute or a brief summary of.
The Empress of Russia, with her own hand, minuted an edict for universal tolerance.
Bancroft. Minute
(Mi*nute") a. [L. minutus, p. p. of minuere to lessen. See Minish, Minor, and cf. Menu,
Minuet.]
1. Very small; little; tiny; fine; slight; slender; inconsiderable. "Minute drops." Milton.
