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"Did you hear about the clock maker who was the first to add a second hand to a clock? His first prototype was a complete failure, but he got it working the sec
by akkartik 8y ago
"Did you hear about the clock maker who was the first to add a second hand to a clock? His first prototype was a complete failure, but he got it working the second time."
Very funny, but here's the real reason (https://www.etymonline.com/word/second https://www.etymonline.com/word/second):
> second (n) from Old French seconde, from Medieval Latin secunda, short for secunda pars minuta, "second diminished part," the result of the second division of the hour by sixty (the first being the "prime minute," now called the minute).
Etymonline.com is awesome. I use it several times a day.
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- aeorgnoieang 8y agoThe author's bio is great: - [bio](https://www.etymonline.com/columns/post/bio?ref=etymonline_footer https://www.etymonline.com/columns/post/bio?ref=etymonline_f...)