Where does “Mikronesia” come from?

Mikronesia (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Ancient Greek μικρός, from Proto-Indo-European mēy- — soft, tender, dear.

Ancestry of “Mikronesia”, step by step

Mikronesia traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Ancient Greek μικρός

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

via Ancient Greek νῆσος

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekνῆσοςisland

Words derived from “Mikronesia”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European mēy- →Every word from Ancient Greek μικρός →