Al-Biruni first subdivided the hour sexagesimally into minutes, seconds, thirds and fourths in 1000 CE while discussing Jewish months.

[4] Historically, the word "minute" comes from the Latin pars minuta prima, meaning "first small part".

For even further refinement, the term "third" (1⁄60 of a second) remains in some languages, for example Polish (tercja)[citation needed] and Turkish (salise), although most modern usage subdivides seconds by using decimals.

In 1267, the medieval scientist Roger Bacon, writing in Latin, defined the division of time between full moons as a number of hours, minutes, seconds, thirds, and fourths (horae, minuta, secunda, tertia, and quarta) after noon on specified calendar dates.

[6] The introduction of the minute hand into watches was possible only after the invention of the hairspring by Thomas Tompion, an English watchmaker, in 1675.