# How long is 'a moment'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 1, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-moment/178944 "2003-06-01T14:57:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skijumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Skijumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skijumper)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-moment/178944/1 "2003-06-01T14:57:09Z")
I read somewhere that a moment can be measured…something like 90 secs. Unfortunately I can’t remember the source (except that it was a British newspaper). Anybody out there who’s heard of this theory, has a link or an answer to this query? Tried Googling but nothing relevant came up. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-moment/178944/2 "2003-06-01T15:08:16Z")
In physics, the term “moment” has a specific definition, which is the vector product of a quantity (usually motion) and its perpendicular distance from a reference point. In common usage, it is a short, but indeterminate length of time, or an instantaneous, zero-length, point in time. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-moment/178944/3 "2003-06-01T15:15:31Z")
I’ve repeatedly heard the bit of trivia that in old England, a moment was legally defined as one and a half minutes. Might of course be an urban legend without any truth in it. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-moment/178944/4 "2003-06-01T18:33:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > **In common usage, it is a short, but indeterminate length of time…** I thought that was an _Mmm-Bop_. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-moment/178944/5 "2003-06-01T18:47:27Z")
Hey, **Troy** , come here. Closer. A little closer. Little more. Ok…what’s the sound of one hand clapping? _SMACK_ Let that be a lesson to you. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-moment/178944/6 "2003-06-01T19:54:35Z")
I’ve always considered it to be 3 minutes. Of course, maybe that was for “a couple of moments”. I’ve seen it defined as anything from 1/16th of a second to 5 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Dandylion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Dandylion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandylion)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-moment/178944/7 "2003-06-01T20:19:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\*I’ve always considered it to be 3 minutes. Of course, maybe that was for “a couple of moments”. > > I’ve seen it defined as anything from 1/16th of a second to 5 minutes. \*\* What a “moment” is may be culturally defined. I now live in Colorado, were a moment fits Qadgop’s definition. As a child growing up in Louisiana “just a moment” meant “when and if I have the time and inclination”:rolleyes: Of course, another common phrase there is “the other day”. As in “I told you to do that _the other day_.” This can be yesterday or ten years ago, depending on the person using this phrase. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-moment/178944/8 "2003-06-01T20:23:27Z")
From [this page](http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictM.html): > [@](#): > > a medieval unit of time equal to 1/40 hour or 1.5 minutes. This meaning has come down to us only as “a brief interval of time.” The moment was divided into 12 [ounces](http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictO.html#ounce) [4] of 7.5 seconds each. Since there’s no citation, this is only evidence that **Skijumper** isn’t alone in having heard this definition. However, while [this article](http://www.pomona.edu/Magazine/PCMFL01/page47.shtml) isn’t particularly scholarly (_Beachcomber_ is a humourous column), it does claim the support of the OED: > [@](#): > > The revelation came to me as I was looking up the word “moment” in the Oxford English Dictionary, with the aim of finding out why a moment of time is so small, while momentous events are so big. One of the meanings listed under “Moment” was: “In mediaeval reckoning, the tenth part of a ‘point’ (see POINT n.1. A.10), the 40th or 50th part of an hour.” I hurried to POINT n.1 A.10, where I read: “In mediaeval measurement of time: The fourth (or according to some, the fifth) part of an hour. (See ATOM n.7.)” Anybody with access to the OED ? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-moment/178944/9 "2003-06-01T21:13:48Z")
The _concise_ OED (7[sup]th[/sup] edition - 1982) says no such thing. ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-moment/178944/10 "2003-06-01T21:44:31Z")
Regardless of the actual definition, “a moment” is going to vary in its meaning, depending on the culture where you happen to be. In Jamaica, “soon come” usually means not soon at all. In Trinidad “just now” is the local term for “soon,” which is a polite way of saying “could be any time” (and usually it’s not soon). In Mexico, “ahorita” can mean really soon, a few hours from now or tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-moment/178944/11 "2003-06-01T21:59:07Z")
The entries for “moment” and “point” in my copy of the Compact OED (1971) exactly match the OED quotes in **bonzer** ’s _Beachcomber_ cite. The “moment” quote is sense 2, and the “point” quote is sense 10. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-is-a-moment/178944/12 "2003-06-01T22:29:47Z")
I’m now intrigued about what I’m guessing is a medieval technical use of “atom” that I haven’t previously come across, so I have to ask: what’s the cross-reference to “ATOM” ?