Etymologically
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microcosmus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [miː.krɔˈkɔs.mʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [mi.kroˈkɔz.mus][1]

Forms

mīcrocosmus m (genitive mīcrocosmī); second declension[1] It is also spelled microcosmos[2][3] and michrocosmus.[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek μικρόκοσμος (mikrókosmos, “little world”),[1][5][6][3] from μικρός (mikrós, “small”) and κόσμος (kósmos, “order, world”).[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Isidore of Seville's Etymologiae, meaning a little world, a microcosm.[5][6][2][7]

Semantic evolution

Medieval writers used it for man as a world in miniature: Bede writes that man is called microcosmos by the wise, “that is, a lesser world”.[3] It could also be the human body,[3] and Odo of Cluny contrasts it with the greater world.[4] Bernard Silvestris (died 1153) named the two books of his work Megacosmus and Microcosmus.[8] English took it over from Medieval Latin in the late 12th century, used by medieval writers for “a man”.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville uses it.[5][6][7]
  • 639–709 AD – Aldhelm glosses it as “the lesser world”.[3][7]
  • 993 – A charter calls Adam the microcosm.[3]
  • late 12th century – English borrows it as mycrocossmos.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A little world, a microcosm.[5][6][2]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Man as a world in miniature; also the human body.[3][4][10][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT
  5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
  11. ^ Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl