The minim (abbreviated min, ♏︎ or ♍︎) is a unit of volume in both the imperial and U.S. customary systems of measurement.
[3][4] The minim was introduced in the 1809 edition of The Pharmacopœia of the Royal College of Physicians of London as a replacement for the drop, which had previously been the smallest unit of the apothecaries' system.
[5] It was observed that the size of a drop can vary considerably depending upon the viscosity and specific gravity of the liquid.
The minim, on the other hand, was measured with a graduated glass tube known as a "minimometer",[6] later known as the minim-tube.
[7] The minim-tube was a type of graduated pipette, a device invented in 1791 by François-Antoine-Henri Descroizilles.