Minutia

WORD OF THE DAY

minutia / noun / muh-NOO-shee-uh

Definition

: a minute or minor detail — usually used in plural

Examples

The book argues that it is easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of everyday life and fail to notice important opportunities.

"Bart has the soul of an artist, but his mind is like this steel trap of information that has details on everything from the minutia of legislation to the lyrics of every hit song that's ever been written." 

— Beckie Foster, quoted in The Tennessean, 10 Nov. 2019

Did You Know?

Minutia was borrowed into English in the 18th century from the Latin plural noun minutiae, meaning "trifles" or "details," and derived from the singular noun minutia, meaning "smallness." 

In English, minutia is most often used in the plural as either minutiae (pronounced \muh-NOO-shee-ee) or, on occasion, as simply minutia. 

The Latin minutia, incidentally, comes from minutus, an adjective meaning "small" that was created from the verb minuere, meaning "to lessen." 

A familiar descendant of minutus is minute