|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
microcosm
mi·cro·cosm / ˈmīkrəˌkäzəm/ (also mi·cro·cos·mos / ˌmīkrəˈkäzməs; -mōs/ ) • n. a community, place, or situation regarded as encapsulating in miniature the characteristic qualities or features of something much larger: Berlin is a microcosm of Germany, in unity as in division. ∎ humankind regarded as the epitome of the universe. PHRASES: in microcosm in miniature.DERIVATIVES: mi·cro·cos·mic / ˌmīkrəˈkäzmik/ adj. mi·cro·cos·mi·cal·ly / -ˈkäzmik(ə)lē/ adv. |
|
|
Cite this article
"microcosm." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "microcosm." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-microcosm.html "microcosm." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-microcosm.html |
|
microcosm
microcosm A late nineteenth-century American term encompassing essentially the same ideas as the ecosystem concept. Now it is applied especially to small-scale, simplified, experimental ecosystems, laboratory- or field-based, which may be either derived directly from nature (e.g. when samples of pond water are maintained subsequently by the input of artificial light and gas exchange) or built up from axenic (organism-free) cultures until the required conditions of organisms and environment are achieved. Such small-scale experimental ecosystems may also be called micro-ecosystems.
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "microcosm." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "microcosm." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-microcosm.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "microcosm." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-microcosm.html |
|
microcosm
microcosm
1. A late nineteenth-century American term encompassing essentially the same ideas as the word ‘ecosystem’. 2. (micro-ecosystem) A small-scale, simplified, experimental ecosystem, laboratory- or field-based, which may be: (a)derived directly from nature (e.g. when samples of pond water are maintained subsequently by the input of artificial light and gas-exchange); or(b)built up from axenic cultures until the required conditions of organisms and environment are achieved. |
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "microcosm." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "microcosm." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-microcosm.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "microcosm." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-microcosm.html |
|
microcosm
microcosm
1. A late 19th-century American term encompassing essentially the same ideas as the word ‘ecosystem’. 2. (micro-ecosystem) A small-scale, simplified, experimental ecosystem, laboratory- or field-based, which may be: (a). derived directly from nature (e.g. when samples of pond water are maintained subsequently by the input of artificial light and gas-exchange); or (b) built up from axenic cultures until the required conditions of organisms and environment are achieved. |
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "microcosm." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "microcosm." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-microcosm.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "microcosm." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-microcosm.html |
|
microhabitat
microhabitat The local habitat of a particular organism or microorganism. There are normally a number of different microhabitats within a large habitat (macrohabitat), each with its distinct set of environmental conditions. For example, in a stream macrohabitat there will exist different microhabitats, depending on oxygen content, pH, speed of water flow, and other factors in localized areas of the stream.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"microhabitat." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "microhabitat." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-microhabitat.html "microhabitat." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-microhabitat.html |
|
microhabitat
microhabitat A precise location within a habitat where an individual species is normally found (e.g. within a deciduous oak woodland habitat woodlice may be found in the microhabitat beneath the bark of rotting wood).
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "microhabitat." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "microhabitat." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-microhabitat.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "microhabitat." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-microhabitat.html |
|
microhabitat
microhabitat A precise location within a habitat where an individual species is normally found (e.g. within a deciduous oak woodland habitat woodlice may be found in the microhabitat beneath the bark of rotting wood).
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "microhabitat." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "microhabitat." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-microhabitat.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "microhabitat." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-microhabitat.html |
|
microcosm
microcosm •chasm, spasm
•enthusiasm • orgasm • sarcasm
•ectoplasm • cytoplasm • iconoclasm
•cataplasm • pleonasm • phantasm
•besom • dirigisme
•abysm, arrivisme, chrism, chrisom, ism, prism, schism
•Shiism, theism
•Maoism, Taoism
•egoism • truism • Babism • cubism
•sadism • nudism • Sufism • ageism
•holism • cataclysm • monism • papism
•verism • aneurysm • purism • Nazism
•sexism • racism • paroxysm • autism
•macrocosm • microcosm • bosom
|
|
|
Cite this article
"microcosm." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "microcosm." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-microcosm.html "microcosm." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-microcosm.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
