pref.
- Small: microcircuit.
- Abnormally small: microcephaly.
- Requiring or involving microscopy: microsurgery.
- One-millionth (10 -6): microampere.
[Greek mīkro-, from mīkros, small.]
| Dictionary: micro- |
[Greek mīkro-, from mīkros, small.]
| 5min Related Video: micro- |
| Hacker Slang: micro- |
1. Very small; this is the root of its use as a quantifier prefix.
2. A quantifier prefix, calling for multiplication by 10-6 (see quantifiers). Neither of these uses is peculiar to hackers, but hackers tend to fling them both around rather more freely than is countenanced in standard English. It is recorded, for example, that one CS professor used to characterize the standard length of his lectures as a microcentury — that is, about 52.6 minutes (see also attoparsec, nanoacre, and especially microfortnight).
3. Personal or human-scale — that is, capable of being maintained or comprehended or manipulated by one human being. This sense is generalized from microcomputer, and is esp. used in contrast with macro- (the corresponding Greek prefix meaning ‘large’).
4. Local as opposed to global (or macro-). Thus a hacker might say that buying a smaller car to reduce pollution only solves a microproblem; the macroproblem of getting to work might be better solved by using mass transit, moving to within walking distance, or (best of all) telecommuting.
| Gardener's Dictionary: micro- |
As part of a species name, means “very small.” For example, littleleaf boxwood, Buxus microphylla, has smaller leaves than other kinds of boxwoods do.
| Wikipedia: Micro |
| Look up micro- in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Micro is an English prefix of Greek origin that is most commonly known for its usage in the word microscopic, the prefix refers to an object as being smaller than scale of focus, in contrast with macro. Some examples of the prefix "micro" are microwave, microphone, microchip and micro-organism.
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| Translations: Micro- |
Français (French)
pref. - (préf) micro- signifiant très petit/infinitésimal, relatif à/exécuté à l'aide d'un microscope, relatif à de très petits objets, etc, limité à une petite région/étendue
Deutsch (German)
pref. - Mikro-
Ελληνική (Greek)
pref. - μικρο-
Español (Spanish)
pref. - micro
Svenska (Swedish)
pref. - mikro-
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
小, 微, 扩大的, 缩微的
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
pref. - 小, 微, 擴大的, 縮微的
العربيه (Arabic)
(بادئه الكلم- ه) بادئه معناها صغير
עברית (Hebrew)
pref. - זעיר, של החלק המיליוני, מיקרוסקופי, נוגע לעצמים קטנים ביותר, מוגבל לשטח ולטווח קטנים ביותר
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![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Hacker Slang. The Jargon File. Copyright © 2007. Read more | |
![]() | Gardener's Dictionary. Taylor's Dictionary for Gardeners, by Frances Tenenbaum. Copyright © 1997 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Micro". Read more | |
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