The
minute is a
unit of
time or of
angle. As a unit of time, the minute is equal to (the first
sexagesimal fraction) of an
hour or 60
seconds. In the
UTC time standard, a minute on rare occasions has 61 seconds, a consequence of
leap seconds (there is a provision to insert a negative leap second which would result in a 59-second minute, but this has never happened in more than four decades under this system). As a unit of angle, the
minute of arc is equal to of a
degree or 60
seconds (of arc). Although not an
SI unit for either time or angle, the minute is accepted for use with SI units for both. The SI symbols for
minute or
minutes are
min for time measurement, and the
prime symbol after a number, e.g. 5', for angle measurement. The prime is also sometimes used informally to denote minutes of time.