microscopic
/ˌmaɪ.kɹəˈskɑ.pɪk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.37 in modern English
21
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of, or relating to microscopes or microscopy; microscopal
adj
So small that it can only be seen with the aid of a microscope.
adj
Carried out with great attention to detail.
Example Sentences
- "We supply all microscopic stains and other materials."
- "The water was full of microscopic organisms."
- "Yiannas said there has been widespread public confusion about cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness caused by the microscopic parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, also known as cyclospora, that can cause explosive diarrhea."
- "Compared to the galaxy, we are microscopic in scale."
- "By wholesale omission of connections and by the use of a microscopic scale of photographic reproduction which makes some of the most important tables difficult to read, the size has been cut down from last winter's 580 to 520 pages only."
- "... the notion of the microscopic was often used in the foundations of quantum theory right from the start, to indicate the realm in which quantum theory is required in order to explain phenomena when classical theory cannot do so; quantum theory was generally considered in those years to apply only to situations involving atoms and smaller “microscopic” entities..."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mey-der.? Ancient Greek μῑκρός (mīkrós) Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti Proto-Hellenic *sképt͏̌omai Ancient Greek σκέπτομαι (sképtomai) Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Hellenic *-ós ▲ Ancient Greek -ος (-os)influ. Ancient Greek -ός (-ós) Ancient Greek σκοπός (skopós) Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *-eyéti Proto-Indo-European *-esyéti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Ancient Greek -έω (-éō) Ancient Greek σκοπέω (skopéō) Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -iusnom. Latin -ium Latin mīcroscopiumlbor. Italian microscopiobor. English microscope Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic English microscopic From microscope + -ic.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌmaɪ.kɹəˈskɑ.pɪk/
- British English: /ˌmaɪ.kɹəˈskɒp.ɪk/
Inflected Forms
more microscopic (comparative)
most microscopic (superlative)