The Origin of Minutes and Seconds
The concept of minutes and seconds did not come about until the 14th and the 16th centuries, respectively, when actual clocks were started to be made. It was decided that sexagesimal system used in Babylon was the most adequate for time measurement. It is argued that the number 60 is more practical than others because it is divisible by 30, 20, 15, 12, 10, 6, 5, 3, and 2 and that was the reason why the sexagesimal system was used. The word "minute" is derived from "pars minuta prima" which means " the first very small part" and the word second comes from "pars minuta secunda", the second very small part.