sexagesimal

[ sek-suh-jes-uh-muhl ]

/ ˌsɛk səˈdʒɛs ə məl /

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adjective

pertaining to or based upon the number 60.

noun

a fraction whose denominator is 60 or a power of 60.

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Origin of sexagesimal

From the Medieval Latin word sexāgēsimālis, dating back to 1675–85. See Sexagesima, -al¹

Words nearby sexagesimal

sex, sex act, sexagenarian, sexagenary, Sexagesima, sexagesimal, sexaholic, sex-and-shopping, sexangular, sex appeal, sex assignment

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sexagesimal in a sentence

After that the sexagesimal division system is abandoned, and fractions of seconds are estimated in decimals.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5|Various
Gunter had as early as 1620 given the logarithms of sines and tangents on the sexagesimal scale, as far as seven decimals.
Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries, Vol. 2|Henry Hallam
Each degree is divided into 60 minutes, and each minute into 60 seconds, according to the sexagesimal division of the circle.
The Sailor's Word-Book|William Henry Smyth
The Babylonians adopted 60 for both these purposes, thus giving us the sexagesimal division of angles and of time.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 5|Various

The trigonometrical results are given for every hundred-thousandth of the quadrant (10″ centesimal or 3″.24 sexagesimal).
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 8|Various

British Dictionary definitions for sexagesimal

sexagesimal

/ (ˌsɛksəˈdʒɛsɪməl) /

adjective

relating to or based on the number 60sexagesimal measurement of angles

noun

a fraction in which the denominator is some power of 60; a sixtieth

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