minutia

plural minutiae · obsolete plural minutiæ

1. A minor detail, often of negligible importance.

   They spent all their time on minutiae, never making real progress.

   1 more example

   I think I can ſee the preciſe and diſtinguiſhing marks of national characters more in theſe nonſenſical minutiæ, than in the moſt important matters of ſtate ; where great men of all nations talk and ſtalk ſo much alike, that I would not give ninepence to chuſe amongſt them.

   1768, Mr. Yorick [pseudonym; Laurence Sterne], A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy, 2nd edition, volume I, London: T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt, published 1768, page 159

2. forensicsAny of the point features on fingerprints used for matching, usually endings and bifurcations of ridges.