Minute is a unit that is used to measure both time and angles. In time, 60 minutes make up one hour. Each minute is divided into 60 seconds. Because an hour is 1/24 of a day, a minute is 1/1,440 of a day. In measuring angles, 60 minutes make up one degree. A circle is divided into 360 degrees, and so one minute is 1/21,600 of a circle. Each minute of an angle is divided into 60 seconds.
The minute in time is an exact measurement, which means exactly so much time. The minute of an angle is an exact portion of a circle, and is independent of the size of the circle. But if the angle is denoted by a linear measurement along the circumference, the distance of a minute depends on the circle’s diameter. For example, a minute on a baseball measures only a small fraction of an inch. On the earth’s surface a minute is one nautical mile, about 6,076 feet, or 1,852 meters (see Mile).
The circle was first divided into 360 degrees by ancient civilizations, either the Babylonians or the Egyptians. The Babylonians figured everything in units, 10’s, and 60’s instead of 10’s and 100’s, as we do. The degree was divided into 60 parts and each of these parts was divided into 60 parts. The Romans called the first divisions the partes minutae primae, or “first small parts.” The second division they called the partes minutae secundae, or “second small parts.” These terms were finally shortened to minute and second.
