"minute search, scrutiny, close examination," 1772, noun of action from scrutinize. Earlier was scrutation (1590s), from Latin noun of action scrutationem (nominative scrutatio).
"minute fle-like insect of the West Indies and South America," 1756, from West Indies chigoe (1660s), possibly from Carib, or from or influenced by words from African languages (such as Wolof and Yoruba jiga "insect").
late 14c., "process or act of distilling," from Medieval Latin distillationem (nominative distillatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin distillare "to trickle down in minute drops" (see distill). Meaning "a product of distilling" is from early 15c.
1590s, "small point," also "minute detail of conduct, small or petty formality," thus "particularity or exactness in the observance of rules or forms prescribed by law or custom," from Italian puntiglio or Spanish puntillo, diminutive of punto "point" (see point (n.)).
"tiny animal, minute arachnid," Old English mite "minute, parasitic insect or arachnid," from Proto-Germanic *miton (source also of Middle Dutch mite, Dutch mijt, Old High German miza, Danish mide) meaning originally perhaps "the cutter," in reference to its bite, from Proto-Germanic *mait- (source also of Gothic maitan, Old High German meizen "to cut"), from PIE root *mai- (1) "to cut" (see maim). Compare ant. Or else its original sense is "something small," and it is from PIE root *mei- (2) "small," in reference to size.
late 14c., nicete, "folly, stupidity," a sense now obsolete, from Old French niceté "foolishness, childishness, simplicity," from nice "silly" (see nice). It underwent a sense evolution parallel to that of nice, arriving at "minute, subtle point" 1580s and "exactitude, accuracy" in 1650s. Phrase to a nicety "exactly, with great exactness" is attested from 1795.
"moral misgiving, pang of conscience," late 14c., scrupul, from Old French scrupule (14c.), from Latin scrupulus "uneasiness, anxiety, pricking of conscience," also, literally, "small sharp stone," a diminutive of scrupus "sharp stone or pebble," used figuratively by Cicero for a cause of uneasiness or anxiety, a word of unknown etymology.
Probably the notion in the image is of a pebble in one's shoe. The word in the classical Latin sense of "smallest unit of weight or measurement" also is attested in English from late 14c., and was given various extensions: "one minute of arc, one minute of an hour," etc. The Latin words commonly are regarded as identical, with sense development of the latter from "small pebble" to "small weight."
