minutia
noun
- a small or minor detail
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /maɪ̯ˈn(j)uːʃ(iː)ə/ / /məˈn(j)uːʃ(iː)ə/
noun
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin minutia, from minūtus (“small, little”), from minuō (“make smaller”). By surface analysis, minute + -ia.
- A minor detail, often of negligible importance.
“They spent all their time on minutiae, never making real progress.”
“I think I can ſee the preciſe and diſtinguiſhing marks of national characters more in theſe nonſenſical minutiæ, than in the moſt important matters of ſtate ; where great men of all nations talk and ſtalk ſo much alike, that I would not give ninepence to chuſe amongſt them.”
- Any of the point features on fingerprints used for matching, usually endings and bifurcations of ridges.