Literary notes about minimal (AI summary)
In literature, "minimal" is employed to denote the least possible amount or degree necessary for a given purpose. It functions as a qualifier for measures that barely meet a threshold, whether referring to a constrained monetary sum [1] or the succinct structure of a command line [2]. In technical and scientific contexts, the term underscores conditions of near insufficiency, as seen in discussions of minimal interference in signal transmission [3] or the minimal operating needs in budgetary conditions [4]. Moreover, it can evoke a philosophical sense of reducing phenomena to their irreducible essence, suggesting that even the slightest, seemingly negligible elements may bear significant implications [5].
- On the insistence of Mirza Nuruddin, Hawksworth had carried only a minimal amount of money with him.
— from The Moghul by Thomas Hoover - A minimal command line contains just a command name, such as whoami .
— from Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery - Use a shielded cable to ensure minimal interference with radio and television reception.
— from The Online World by Odd De Presno - "Of the basic budget for 1960-61 of $1,140,700, nearly one-third must be raised from individual and corporate sources to meet minimal operating needs.
— from The Invisible Government by Dan Smoot - There is another type of mind which is constitutionally sensitive to the infinite significance of minimal things.
— from Impressions and Comments by Havelock Ellis
