— mosaically , adv.
/moh zay"ik/ , n., adj., v., mosaicked, mosaicking .
n.
1. a picture or decoration made of small, usually colored pieces of inlaid stone, glass, etc.
2. the process of producing such a picture or decoration.
3. something resembling such a picture or decoration in composition, esp. in being made up of diverse elements: a mosaic of borrowed ideas.
4. Also called aerial mosaic, photomosaic . an assembly of aerial photographs matched in such a way as to show a continuous photographic representation of an area (mosaic map) .
5. Archit. (in an architectural plan) a system of patterns for differentiating the areas of a building or the like, sometimes consisting of purely arbitrary patterns used to separate areas according to function but often consisting of plans of flooring, reflected ceiling plans, overhead views of furnishings and equipment, or other items really included in the building or building plan.
6. Also called mosaic disease . Plant Pathol. any of several diseases of plants, characterized by mottled green or green and yellow areas on the leaves, caused by certain viruses.
7. Biol. an organism exhibiting mosaicism.
8. Television. a light-sensitive surface in a television camera tube, consisting of a thin mica sheet coated on one side with a large number of small globules of silver and cesium insulated from each other. The image to be televised is focused on this surface and the resulting charges on the globules are scanned by an electron beam.
adj.
9. pertaining to, resembling, or used for making a mosaic or mosaic work: a mosaic tile.
10. composed of a combination of diverse elements.
v.t.
11. to make a mosaic of or from.
12. to decorate with mosaic.
[ 1350-1400; ME mosaïque mosaico musaicum, re-formation of LL musivum ( opus ), L museum, musaeum mosaic work (quantity of u uncert.), of obscure orig.; variants may show an assumed relationship with Gk mouseîon shrine of the Muses, MUSEUM, by analogy with archi ( v ) um (see ARCHIVE), though classical Gk word is not attested in sense "mosaic" ]