late Middle English: via Old French from late Latin minuta, feminine (used as a noun) of minutus 'made small'. The senses 'period of sixty seconds' and 'sixtieth of a degree' derive from medieval Latin pars minuta prima 'first minute part'late Middle English (in the sense 'lesser', with reference to a tithe or tax): from Latin minutus 'lessened', past participle of minuerelate Middle English (in the singular in the sense 'note or memorandum'): from French minute, from the notion of a rough copy in ‘small writing’ (Latin scriptura minuta) as distinct from the fair copy in book hand. The verb dates from the mid 16th cent