Minute

A minute is:

• a unit of time equal to 1/60th of a hour and to 60 seconds. (Some rare minutes have 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second.)

• a unit of angle, 1/60th of a degree. It is then also known as a minute of angle or minute of arc, and can further be divided into 60 seconds of arc.

The symbol for a minute is a prime (or apostrophe, or single quote). For example, fifteen minutes could be written 15'.

The Earth turns on its polar axis through fifteen minutes of arc in every minute of time. A minute of arc at the Earth's equator is a nautical mile.

See also the "orders of magnitude" list that contains the minute