There are 90 Seconds in a Moment

January 24, 2013 at 2:00 am Chad Upton 13 comments

By Chad Upton

It will only take you a minute to read this post.

Although a minute is a precise amount of time, we often use it to mean a short amount of time. The same goes for “moment”; the difference being that most people don’t know that a moment is a precise measure of time.

Technically, a moment is 90 seconds.

The first reference comes from 1398, found in the Oxford English Dictionary. Cornish writer John of Trevisa wrote that there are 40 moments in an hour (hence 90 seconds each). Oxford has since replaced it with, “a very brief period of time.”

So go on, continue using it as a casual measure of time — now you know the real meaning.

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Photo: Peter Pearson (cc)

Sources: oxford dictionary, wikipedia (moment)

Entry filed under: Demystified, History and Origins. Tags: 1.5, 90, minutes, moment, seconds.

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13 Comments Add your own

1. Wendy | January 27, 2013 at 8:04 am

As a parent this is used a lot! And so to realize, “One moment, please,” just may’ve been a whole 90 seconds, appeases much guilt! Thank you!

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2. A “moment” technically means 90 seconds | Interesting Facts, Fun Facts and Weird Facts! | February 12, 2013 at 11:06 am

[…] [SOURCE] Get free email updates once a day when we add a fact […]

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3. Ryan Willger (@willger) | June 7, 2013 at 8:35 am

Since the Oxford dictionary has updated their entry doesn’t that mean the real meaning is “a very brief period of time”?

Reply
- 4. that guy | June 7, 2013 at 6:41 pm
  
  the dictionary states the way a word is used, but not the way it should be used. literally has come to mean “not literally,” and february has two pronunciations now.
  
  Reply
  - 5. This Guy | November 28, 2013 at 4:08 pm
    
    The dictionary states the way a word is used. There is no way it “should be” used. There is a way it was once used.
6. Mackenzie | June 7, 2013 at 10:33 am

I find a moment to be measurably impossible when it comes to time…
It is the here, and now.

Reply
- 7. Travis | June 7, 2013 at 1:13 pm
  
  That would be an instant
  
  Reply
8. Travis | June 7, 2013 at 1:13 pm

Mackenzie, that would be an instant

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9. arsenal1again | October 21, 2014 at 8:00 am

I know half a moment is a jiffers which is still slower than half a minute.

In a moment I will run for a minute in a jiffers.

Reply
10. Buck Will | May 15, 2015 at 9:06 am

a moment in time it’s not just a definition it’s a moment of one’s perspective of reality of time. once one’s perspective of alerted cannot be measured at this moment.Its your perspective of time as a moment,time is hard to measure if u don’t know or Get the whole point.

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11. Quick Fact: According to an Old English time unit, one moment was... - Quick Facts | July 16, 2016 at 6:46 pm

[…] According to an Old English time unit, one moment was 1.5 minutes.. Ref: brokensecrets.com/2013/01/24/there-are-90-seconds-in-a-moment/ […]

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12. Adam’s Fun Facts: Poltergeist, Brightest Spot On Earth, “Moment” & More! « MIX 105.1 | May 8, 2017 at 3:52 am

[…] 4. Technically, a “moment” is 90 seconds. “Moment” debuted in the 1398 Oxford English Dictionary, and it says there are 40 in an hour, so, that’s 90 seconds each. But obviously the definition has evolved to just mean “a short amount of time.” (Broken Secrets) […]

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13. Fact of the Day - 30 Interesting Facts Of The Day | KickassFacts.com | December 31, 2020 at 8:27 am

[…] According to an Old English time unit, one moment was 1.5 minutes. – Source […]

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