The spelling of the word "sixty second" is often a source of confusion for English speakers. Its IPA phonetic transcription is /ˈsɪksti ˈsɛkənd/, and it is spelled with a "x" rather than "cs" or "ks" that may be expected. The word "sixty" is spelled with a "x" because it is derived from the Old English word "sixtig," which had a "h" sound after the "x." Over time, the "h" sound disappeared, and the spelling remained the same, leading to the current spelling of "sixty second."
Sixty second is an adjective phrase that refers to a time period or duration of exactly 60 seconds. The term "sixty second" consists of two parts: "sixty," which represents the number 60, and "second," which represents a unit of time measurement in the International System of Units (SI). A second, in this context, is a fundamental unit of time equal to 1/60th of a minute or 1/3,600th of an hour.
In various contexts, the phrase "sixty second" can be used to describe the length of an event, action, or interval of time. It is often employed in fields like sports, science, cooking, countdowns, or any situation where precise timing is crucial. For example, in sports, a sixty second race may refer to a sprint or a short-distance event that lasts for exactly one minute. In scientific experiments or tests, sixty seconds might be an essential timeframe for measuring or observing certain phenomena. Additionally, in the culinary world, a sixty second cooking method may refer to a process carried out within a minute for a specific outcome.
Overall, the term "sixty second" denotes a pervasive and widely understood concept relating to the duration of time.
The word sixty is derived from the Old English word sixtig, which in turn came from the Old Norse word sextigir or sextigr, meaning sixty. The Old Norse term was a compound of six and ten, similar to the English language construction. The word second originated from the Latin word secundus, which means following or second in order.