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macrocosm

 - 4 dictionary results

mac⋅ro⋅cosm

  [mak-ruh-koz-uhm]
Use macrocosm in a Sentence
–noun
1. the great world or universe; the universe considered as a whole (opposed to microcosm ).
2. the total or entire complex structure of something: the macrocosm of war.
3. a representation of a smaller unit or entity by a larger one, presumably of a similar structure.
Origin:
1590–1600; < F macrocosme < ML macrocosmus. See macro-, cosmos

Related forms:
mac⋅ro⋅cos⋅mic, adjective
mac⋅ro⋅cos⋅mi⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To macrocosm
mac·ro·cosm   (māk'rə-kŏz'əm)   
n.  

  1. The entire world; the universe.

  2. A system reflecting on a large scale one of its component systems or parts.


[Medieval Latin macrocosmus : Greek makro-, macro- + Greek kosmos, world.]
mac'ro·cos'mic adj., mac'ro·cos'mic·al·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

macrocosm

A representation of something on a much larger scale. (Compare microcosm.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

macrocosm 
1600, "the great world" (the universe, as distinct from the "little world" of man), from O.Fr. macrocosme (c.1300), from M.L. macrocosmus, from Gk. makros "large, long" (see macro-) + kosmos "cosmos" (see cosmos).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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