[LEAPSECS] the big artillery

[Gerard Ashton]

If you want to go all the way back, Sumerian clay tablets arranged numbers
in a grid that looked a lot like a modern spreadsheet, and one unit in a
given column was equivalent to 60 units in the column immediately to the
right.

-----Original Message-----
From: LEAPSECS [mailto:leapsecs-bounces at leapsecond.com] On Behalf Of Clive
D.W. Feather
Sent: Thursday, November 6, 2014 11:20 AM
To: Leap Second Discussion List
Subject: Re: [LEAPSECS] the big artillery

Tony Finch said:
>> "minutes" and "seconds" are fractions of 60 and have been so since 
>> babylonian times for minutes and since 13-mumble for seconds.
> 
> The etymology is actually helpful in this case rather than misleading 
> as etymologies so often are.
> 
> "minute" is short for "pars minuta prima", the first small part 
> "second" is short for "pars minuta secunda", the second small part

And I've seen "third" and "fourth", with the obvious meaning, used in old
documents.

But etymology doesn't override present meanings.

-- 
Clive D.W. Feather          | If you lie to the compiler,
Email: clive at davros.org     | it will get its revenge.
Web: http://www.davros.org  |   - Henry Spencer
Mobile: +44 7973 377646
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