Where does the word minute originate from?

My friend spells the word like this: minuet. Or plural when he is referring to minutes as minuets. My friend tells me that minuet is an old spelling for the word minute and says that "Well, that is how the British used to spell it".

I did some research.

Minute: from the Latin minuta (Feminine), minutus "small minute"

Minuet: a short French dance. Dance in the triple meter. From the French menuet. From Latin: minutus. So called from the short steps taken in the dance.

Both words seem to have common origins.

~ But is it true that in Britain, supposively a long time ago (as the my friend claims), used to be spelled minuet?

SOURCES:

MINUTE

MINUET