minutia

noun

mi·​nu·​tia mə-ˈnü-sh(ē-)ə 

mī-,

-ˈnyü-

plural minutiae mə-ˈnü-shē-ˌē 

-ˌī,

mī-,

-ˈnyü-,

-sh(ē-)ə

: a minute or minor detail

—usually used in plural

He was bewildered by the contract's minutiae.

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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

Recent Examples on the Web

Much as the concussive sound design, abject lack of context, and indistinguishable casting might suggest that a similar film could have been made about any number of firefights, Garland’s forensic attention to the minutiae of what happened proves unexpectedly personal by the end. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 28 Mar. 2025

When attention is placed on the minutiae, valuable time is lost, and innovation suffers. —Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025

Image And what interests his eye is human behavior in all its silly, workaday minutiae: the way people take out the trash, or decide which coat to buy at the store, or cheer a Fourth of July parade. —Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2025

Written by Wright and Darwin D. Martin, a businessman and commissioner of the home, the pair discussed the minutia of the design of the property—the size of the structure, yes, but also the particular kind of trim, the material for the dining chairs, and many more details. —Rachel Davies, Architectural Digest, 29 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin minutiae trifles, details, from plural of minutia smallness, from minutus

First Known Use

1748, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for minutia

• minutiae