Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “micro” come from?

Micro comes from Ancient Greek μικρός, traced to Proto-Indo-European smēyg-, itself from Proto-Indo-European smē-.

micro (English): Small, relatively small; short form of...

Definitions

  1. Small, relatively small; short form of...

Ancestry of “micro”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekμικρόςlittle, small
2Proto-Indo-Europeanmēy-soft, tender, dear

Words derived from “micro”

  • micromelia
  • microsaccadic
  • supermicro
  • micromania
  • microsaccade
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mēy- →