ˈmīkrəˌkäzəm noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English microcosme, mycrocossmos, microcosmus, from Medieval Latin microcosmus, alteration (influenced by Latin micro- micr-) of Greek mikros kosmos, from mikros small + kosmos order, universe — more at micr-
1. : a little world : a miniature universe
the microcosm of the atom grows constantly richer in content and interest — Scientific American Reader
2. : man or human nature believed to be an epitome of the world or the universe
man is a microcosm , not in the natural sense, but in the historical sense, a compendium of universal history — Encore
— contrasted with macrocosm
3. : a community, institution, or other unity believed to be an epitome of a larger unity (as a nation or the world)
a set of characters, from all levels of the town's microcosm — Anthony Boucher
the boardinghouse was a microcosm of a larger world — Van Wyck Brooks
poetry is a discovery of microcosms, of representative worlds — C.S.Kilby
when the battle is a microcosm of the entire conflict — T.C.Chubb
a sunken ship is a microcosm of the civilization that launched it — A.C.Clarke
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- in microcosm