Sexagesimal
/ˌsɛksəˈdʒɪməl/noun
Relating to a numerical system based on sixty.
Did you know?Sexagesimal mathematics was developed in ancient Mesopotamia, whose legacy still governs 60 seconds per minute, 60 minutes per hour, and 360 degrees in a circle.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*swéks
“The reconstructed numeral meaning “six.””
Ancient Latin
Latin
sex
“Six.”
Classical Latin
Latin
sexāgintā
“Sixty, literally a form built from the numeral six.”
Late Latin
Latin
sexāgēsimus
“Sixtieth.”
17th Century
English
sexagesimal
“Based on sixty or on sixtieths; adopted into English mathematical terminology.”
Modern English
English
sexagesimal
“Using a base-sixty numeral system, as in ancient Babylonian mathematics.”