minutia
noun
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Minutia Has Latin Roots
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.
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How to Pronounce Minutia and Minutiae
Minutiae, we’ve established, is the plural of minutia and also far more common in prose than the singular minutia. There is, however, confusion over the pronunciation of both the singular and the plural, and the confusion may be leading some to use the singular minutia where the plural minutiae is called for. Minutia, the singular, is generally pronounced \muh-NOO-shee-uh\ or \muh-NOO-shuh\, and the plural minutiae should be properly pronounced \muh-NOO-shee-ee\. But transcripts of spoken English show that this is not always adhered to: minutia shows up in transcribed speech far more often than it does in edited writing, and usually in places where one would expect minutiae. This leads us to believe that the pronunciation of minutiae is merging with the pronunciation of minutia, or that minutia is being re-analyzed as a zero plural.
Examples of minutia in a Sentence
Bernadette Joy, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
The film rests on the strength of its gripping journalistic procedure, showing the minutiae of working with a source, putting a story together, and sending it out to the public.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 27 Mar. 2024
While other governors used their emergency powers to dictate the minutiae of American life — Governor Whitmer closed down the gardening sections of retailers in Michigan — Ron DeSantis used his powers to stop local school districts from closing down on their own.
—Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 12 Jan. 2024
Again Targets Judge s Daughter In New York Criminal Case
What if the secret to bridging this gap lay in the minutiae—the seemingly small but mighty elements that determine the quality, resonance, and effectiveness of your marketing content?
—Renae Gregoire, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
To put it frankly, our president and VP could not care any less about operational minutiae.
—Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2024
By his own acknowledgment, however, Jesus Cardenas was not adept at the minutia of running a business and filing all of the accompanying paperwork.
—Tammy Murga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024
While there’s plenty of minutiae to absorb in this depiction of one historic day, there’s also the palpable sense of how shockingly things can change in a few hours—for individuals and the wider world.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
Intimate shots pull the viewer into the narrative’s minutiae, running at full-pace.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 19 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'minutia.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Latin minutiae trifles, details, from plural of minutia smallness, from minutus
1748, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Minutia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minutia. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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