The Collaborative International Dictionary
Minute \Min"ute\, a. Of or pertaining to a minute or minutes; occurring at or marking successive minutes.
Minute bell, a bell tolled at intervals of a minute, as to give notice of a death or a funeral.
Minute book, a book in which written minutes are entered.
Minute glass, a glass measuring a minute or minutes by the running of sand.
Minute gun, a discharge of a cannon repeated every minute as a sign of distress or mourning.
Minute hand, the long hand of a watch or clock, which makes the circuit of the dial in an hour, and marks the minutes.
WordNet
n. (military) gun that is discharged once every minute (usually as part of a military funeral)
Usage examples of "minute gun".
The monotonous booming of the minute gun marked the passage of valuable time.
Enemy bearing north-north-east and north-north-west, and carry on with the half-minute gun.
In any case I shall hail every so often, like a minute gun, to help them.