minim

[ min-uhm ]
See synonyms for minim on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the smallest unit of liquid measure, 1/60 (0.0167) of a fluid dram, roughly equivalent to one drop. Abbreviation: min, min.; Symbol: ♍, ♏

  2. Music. a note, formerly the shortest in use, but now equivalent in time value to one half of a semibreve; half note.

  1. the least quantity of anything.

  2. something very small or insignificant.

  3. (initial capital letter) a member of a mendicant religious order founded in the 15th century by St. Francis of Paola.

adjective
  1. smallest.

  2. very small.

Origin of minim

1
1400–50; late Middle English <Medieval Latin, Latin minimus; as musical term, <Medieval Latin (nota) minima;see minimum

Words Nearby minim

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use minim in a sentence

  • At such an hour as this Malone wasted no minim of strength in futile anger.

    Destiny | Charles Neville Buck
  • Dr. Jones from a small case vial dropped a single minim into a teaspoon and wiped it off upon her tongue.

    Doctor Jones' Picnic | S. E. Chapman
  • The dose was severe—yet she seemed healthy enough to stand a three-minim injection.

    The Green Rust | Edgar Wallace
  • In such a case, the third minim adds nothing to the duration of the bar, as some conductors seem to imagine.

    The Orchestral Conductor | Hector Berlioz
  • It is to be given in ten to twenty minim doses, largely diluted.

    Essentials of Diseases of the Skin | Henry Weightman Stelwagon

British Dictionary definitions for minim

minim

/ (ˈmɪnɪm) /


noun
  1. a unit of fluid measure equal to one sixtieth of a drachm. It is approximately equal to one drop: Symbol: M,

  2. music a note having the time value of half a semibreve: Usual US and Canadian name: half-note

  1. a small or insignificant person or thing

  2. a downward stroke in calligraphy

adjective
  1. rare very small; tiny

Origin of minim

1
C15 (in its musical meaning): from Latin minimus smallest

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012