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The minim (abbreviated min or ♏) is a unit of volume in both the imperial and US customary systems of measurement. Specifically it is ¹⁄₆₀ of a fluidram^[1] or ¹⁄₄₈₀ of a fluid ounce.^[2]

In contrast with apothecaries' weight, apothecaries' measure is a system both recent and short-lived. It seems to have arisen with the United Kingdom's defining of the new imperial gallon in 1824, and is fully described at least as early as 1878 in the Weights and Measures Act. In the United Kingdom, the 1963 Weights and Measures Act provided for the abolition of the minim, fluid scruple, and fluid drachm, all already obsolete. Actual delegalization occurred on February 1, 1971.

While the use of the minim, along with other such measures, has been reduced by the adoption of the metric system, it still persists in some countries in the measurement of dosages of medicine.

[edit] Definitions

Imperial minim

1 imperial minim	=	1⁄480	imperial fluid ounce
	=	1⁄60	imperial fluidram
	=	59.1938802083	microlitre (exactly)[3][4]
	≈	1⁄500	US fluid ounce
	≈	0.960759940	US fluid minim

US customary minim

1 US minim	=	1⁄480	US fluid ounce
	=	1⁄80	US teaspoon
	=	1⁄60	US fluidram
	=	61.611519921875	microliters (exactly)[5]
	≈	1⁄461	imperial fluid ounce
	≈	1.040842731	imperial minims

[edit] References and notes

1. ^ also spelt fluid drachm or fluid dram
2. ^ CIA World Factbook
3. ^ "The Units of Measurement Regulations 1995". 2000-09-20. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1995/Uksi_19951804_en_2.htm. Retrieved 2006-04-18. 
4. ^ The notation 3 indicates that the digit 3 is repeated infinitely.
5. ^ This assumes the international inch of exactly 25.4 millimeters. One US gallon is defined as 231 cubic inches = (3 in.)×(7 in.)×(11 in.).