difference between "minimal" and "minimum&quo

[teleostomi]

What is, if any, the difference between "minimal" and "minimum?"

1.I will accept minimum wage. So, please hire me.

2.I will accept minimal wage. So, please hire me.

Which sentence is more natural or correct?

[Pete]

What is, if any, the difference between "minimal" and "minimum?"

1.I will accept minimum wage. So, please hire me.

2.I will accept minimal wage. So, please hire me.

Which sentence is more natural or correct?
Actually, this is a more complicated question than it might appear.

Here are the meanings of the 2 words that I got from http://m-w.com :
Minimum - (noun) The smallest possible value for something.
(But your question is clearly asking about use as an adjective.)
Minimum - (adjective) describes something that is a minimum.

Minimal - (adjective) (1) having to do with a minimum. (With this meaning, "minimal" has the same meaning as the adjective meaning of "minimum".)
(2) barely adequate (as: they subsist on a minimal diet)
(3) very small in quantity or value (as: a minimal price for something)

Even when the idea of a minimum is intended, you rarely use "minimal" unless one of the other meanings of "minimal" also applies.

In your example, either could be used, but the meaning is a bit different. The more usual statement is 1. Here you mean "the lowest possible wage. In many places, and certainly in the U.S., the lowest possible wage is set by law. In fact, in the U.S., the term "minimum wage" is a technical term and means the specific wage set by that law.

With your sentence 2, you are saying that you will work for a wage that is considered very low, almost negligible. What you and your potential employer consider such a "minimal wage" probably would depend on the kind of job you are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Thank you!

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