microcosm
noun
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Small wonder that the oldest meaning of microcosm in our dictionary is “little world”: the word comes ultimately from the Greek phrase mikros kosmos, meaning “little universe.” That meaning can be applied to many a wee realm, as in “the microcosm of the atom,” but microcosm was originally used by medieval scholars specifically to refer to humans as miniature embodiments of the natural universe. Microcosm soon expanded to refer to places (such as neighborhoods or other communities) thought to embody at a small scale characteristics of larger places, and later to anything serving as an apt representation of something bigger—as when Arthur C. Clarke, famed author of much fiction and nonfiction set in the cosmos, noted that “a sunken ship is a microcosm of the civilization that launched it.”
Examples of microcosm in a Sentence
USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024
Those first two weeks after the time shift are a microcosm of winter: as we’re plunged into darkness, we’re forced to confront our thoughts and feelings about winter—good or bad.
—Kari Leibowitz, TIME, 22 Oct. 2024
The fighting in Donetsk is a microcosm of the wider war.
—David Axe, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024
Falling in love with all things Iceland: ‘My life changed’
Working for that company proved to be a microcosm of Chambers’ conversion to a true-blue Icelander: challenging at first, but eventually eye-opening.
—Ryan Ermey,mickey Todiwala, CNBC, 15 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for microcosm 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'microcosm.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Microcosm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microcosm. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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microcosm
noun
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