# microcosm
## English
### Etymology

From French microcosme, from Latin microcosmus, from Ancient Greek μικρός (mikrós, “small”) + κόσμος (kósmos, “universe, order”); micro- +‎ -cosm.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈmaɪ.kɹə(ʊ)ˌkɒz.əm/
* (US) IPA: /ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌkɑz.əm/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Audio (General Australian):(file)

### Noun

microcosm (plural microcosms)
* Human nature or the human body as representative of the wider universe; man considered as a miniature counterpart of divine or universal nature. [from 15th c.]
** 1972, Rolf Soellner, Shakespeare's Patterns of Self-Knowledge, Chapter 3: Microcosm and Macrocosm: Framing The Picture of Man, page 43:
    The Christian humanists were emphatic in their demand that a man who wishes to understand himself must realize that he is a little world that reflects on a smaller scale the larger world of the universe. […] On the other hand, the whole idea of man as a microcosm was questioned by those who were not in sympathy with the Christian humanists.
* (obsolete) The human body; a person. [17th–19th c.]
** c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:If you see this in the Map of my Microcosme, followes it that I am knowne well enough too?
* A smaller system which is seen as representative of a larger one. [from 17th c.]
** 1953 April, Henry Maxwell, “Abandoned Railway Stations”, in Railway Magazine, page 271:That short journey to Brighton was like a microcosm of the railway universe, embracing as it did a tunnel, a viaduct, two junctions, and two termini! Unfortunately, the route was far from direct.
** 1999 December 16, Barry McIntyre, The Guardian:‘In a sense, the problems experienced at Bristol are like a microcosm of what is happening in the NHS - experienced surgeons battling against difficult circumstances, with inadequate resources and in a culture where the finding of scapegoats appears to be put before the finding of solutions.’
** 2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport‎:Steve Bruce's side have swung from highs to lows in what has been at best a wildly inconsistent start to the season. They experienced a microcosm of this within the opening 45 minutes at the Stadium of Light.
** 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 5:It should come as no surprise to see promotional material and bulletin boards in the department’s languages, though English is also present in the signage of this microcosm of the institution.
* (ecology) A small natural ecosystem; an artificial ecosystem set up as an experimental model. [from 19th c.]
** 2009, Jerry C. Smrchek, Maurice G. Zeeman, Chapter 3: Assessing Risks to Ecological Systems from Chemicals, Peter P. Calow (editor), Handbook of Environmental Risk Assessment and Management, page 53:
    The method is relatively labour intensive (24-30 microcosms are run) and more difficult to interpret when compared with other microcosm methods (Shannon et al. 1986; Cairns & Cherry 1993).

#### Synonyms

* (smaller system representative of a larger one): worldkin
* epitome
* exemplar
* paradigm

#### Antonyms

* macrocosm

#### Translations
## Romanian
### Alternative forms

* microcosmos

### Etymology

Borrowed from French microcosme.

### Noun

microcosm n (plural (rare) microcosmuri)
* microcosm
    Antonyms: macrocosm, macrocosmos