Etymologically
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mica

Etymology and origin of the Latin word mica

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈmiː.ka][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmiː.ka][1]

Forms

mīca f (genitive mīcae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It goes back to Proto-Italic *meik-ā-, and de Vaan follows Nyman in deriving it from Proto-Indo-European *meyk- (“to blink, flicker”), the root of micāre “to flash”, as a “glittering particle”, since it originally meant a grain of salt.[2][1][3] This is formally more attractive than the traditional connection with Ancient Greek σμικρός (smikrós, “small”), which the OLD, the TLL and Lewis and Short give.[2][4][5][6] Pokorny and Köbler derive it from Proto-Indo-European *smēik- (“crumb”).[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is attested from Cato onwards,[2][7] who uses mica salis for a grain of salt.[8]

Semantic evolution

It meant a grain, crumb or particle, especially of salt, and also of gold, marble, incense or bread.[4][6] Catullus says of a tall, handsome woman that there is “not a grain of salt” in her, meaning no wit, and Seneca uses micae of atoms.[6][9] Martial and Seneca use Mica as the name of a small dining room built by Domitian.[4][6]

In the Vulgate the dogs eat the crumbs under the table.[6] In medieval Latin it meant a small loaf of bread, French miche,[10][1] and it survives as French mie and Spanish miga “crumb”.[1] In New Latin it became the name of the mineral mica, borrowed into English in 1706.[1][3]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses mica salis.[8][7]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it for a grain of gold.[6][7]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus speaks of a woman without a grain of salt.[6][7]
  • 40–102/103 AD – Martial names Domitian's small dining hall Mica.[4][7]
  • Middle Ages – It means a small loaf of bread.[10]
  • 1706 – English borrows it as the name of the mineral English mica.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A grain (especially of salt), a crumb, particle.[4][6]
  2. mica salis: a grain of salt; figuratively, a grain of wit.[6][8]
  3. A small dining room.[4][6]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A small loaf of bread.[10]
  5. (New Latin) The mineral mica.[1]

Word family

  • mīcārius
  • micatus
  • mīcula
  • mīcidus
  • micō
  • English mica

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  9. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  10. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Mica.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/mica. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on .