Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Relating to or based on the number sixty: A sexagesimal system uses sixty as its base number.
   • Relating to division into sixtieths: Describes units or calculations that are divided into or expressed in parts of sixty.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The ancient Babylonians used a sexagesimal numeral system.
  • Time measurement is sexagesimal, with 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour.
  • Angular measurement often uses a sexagesimal format for degrees, minutes, and seconds.

Advanced Usage

• Sexagesimal notation: A positional notation system for numbers using base sixty.
  • The sexagesimal notation for the number 125 is "2,5", meaning two sixties plus five.
• Sexagesimal fraction: A fractional part expressed in sixtieths (and further subdivisions by sixty).
  • In astronomy, the right ascension of a celestial object is often given as a sexagesimal fraction of hours.

Variants and Related Words

• Sexagesimally (adverb): In a sexagesimal manner.
  • The angle was calculated sexagesimally.
• Sexagesimation (noun, rare): The act of dividing or counting by sixties.

Synonyms

• Base-sixty: Denoting a numeral system with a radix of sixty.
• Hexagesimal (less common): An alternative term meaning the same as sexagesimal.

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Sexagesimal system: The complete system of counting or calculation based on sixty.
  • The modern concepts of time and angles are legacies of the Babylonian sexagesimal system.
• Sexagesimal cycle: A recurring period of sixty units, such as the Chinese sixty-year cycle.

Adjective

1. of or relating to or reckoning in sixtieths
   • the sexagesimal divisions of hours and degrees