“Minutia” is frequently utilized to refer to “minutiae,” while “minutiae” is commonly pronounced similarly to “minutia,” despite the fact that reputable dictionaries define “minutia” as a minor or insignificant detail, and “minutiae” as minor or insignificant details.
Since the 18th century, English words have been used as both singulars and plurals, demonstrating their pronunciations overall. However, this is not something new.
Perplexed? Well, don’t seek assistance from the Latin language.
The specifics are located here. Minutiae did not signify tiny or insignificant specifics, and “minutia” did not denote a small or minor detail in ancient Latin.
The quality of being small is referred to as smallness, and it applies to both plural and singular nouns, which are minutiae and minutia. These two words have their source in the Latin classical language, where “minutus” meant small.
In the late Latin of the 4th century, minutiae came to mean small or trivial details, but minutia continued to mean smallness.
In both singular and plural forms, it adopted its diminutive or insignificant meaning – in the 18th century, “minutia” emerged in the English language. But then it changed!
The Oxford English Dictionary initially defines “precise details; small or trivial matters or points” as a plural meaning. The first of these Latin words that made its way into English was “minutiae.”
Clarissa, Samuel Richardson’s 1748 epistolary novel, is the earliest instance in the OED: “The result of paying attention to the details, I have always informed you.”
That is, ‘minutia’–a small or trivial point or matter; a precise detail that is used to mean something singular. The dictionary has examples of ‘minutiae’ from the late 18th century to the year 2000, however.
The novel “The Beggar Girl and Her Benefactors” by Anna Maria Bennett (who wrote as “Mrs. Bennett”) includes a passage about her meticulous focus on every detail of her household organization.
“The earliest citation for the singular form of the word ‘minutia’ comes from Elizabeth Blower’s 1782 novel ‘Bateman George’, where the small details of observation are not dependent on the beauty.”
The first Oxford example that refers to just one “minutia” is from Washington Irving’s 1841 biography of the poet Margaret Miller Davidson:.
“By the bravery of their eternal ancestors, they inherited the freedom that was passed down to them. Not even the smallest detail of it would be given up without hard work and sacrifices, demonstrating their deep devotion to their country.”
The earliest written example of the word “minutia” used in the plural form can be found in Charles Burney’s Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Abate Metastasio (1796), which describes the detailed aspects of various occasions and events that are imagined.
These usages indicate no words other than those labeled as non-standard English, but anything else is considered standard English.
When used in a plural form, “minutia” is frequently encountered online since the term is seldom employed to refer to a small or insignificant detail. This could be attributed to the fact that only a few reputable dictionaries in the US and the UK include definitions for the singular form of “minutia.”
In fact, the most recent fifth edition of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language removed the entry for the singular word “minutia.”
“Minutia” is pronounced mi-NOO-shee-uh and “minutiae” is pronounced mi-NOO-shee-ee, mi-NOO-shee-eye, mi-NOO-shee-uh, or mi-NOO-shuh, as per pronunciation guides found in standard American dictionaries. The NOO in both words can alternatively be NYOO.
Most Americans pronounce “minutiae” as mi-NOO-shuh, and only a few use “minutia” to refer to a minor detail. Nonetheless, our observation suggests that numerous individuals do.
As for British pronunciations, the OED says “minutia” can be either my-NYOO-shee-uh or mi-NYOO-shee-uh while “minutiae” can my-NYOO-shee-eye, mi-NYOO-shee-eye, my-NYOO-shee-ee, or mi-NYOO-shee-ee.
In other terms, you can likely justify almost any probable usage of “details” and “specific details.”
We pronounce “minutiae” as mi-NOO-shuh, but we don’t use “minutia” to refer to trivial or small details. If we want to refer to a trivial detail, we might call it a “triviality” or a “trifle.”
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