Word of the Day : September 4, 2019

minim \MIN-im\ noun

Definition

1 : a musical half note

2 : something very minute

3 : a unit of capacity equal to 1/60 fluid dram

Did You Know?

Like the more common minimum, minim derives from the Latin word minimus, meaning "least" or "smallest." Musicians were the first to note its significance in the 15th century as a word for the half note. Chirographers soon adopted it as a word for a single downstroke in penmanship (such as any of the three in the letter m), and after careful analysis, apothecaries prescribed minim as a word for their smallest unit of liquid capacity. English speakers have also embraced minim as a general noun referring to things that are very small and as an adjective meaning "of the smallest size," as in "a minim amount."

Aired September 4, 2019

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