mi·cro·cosm (mī'krə-kŏz'əm) n. A small, representative system having analogies to a larger system in constitution, configuration, or development: "He sees the auto industry as a microcosm of the U.S. itself"(William J. Hampton).
[Middle English microcosme, man as a little world, from Old French, from Late Latin mīcrocosmus, from Greek mīkros kosmos : mīkros, small + kosmos, world, order.] mi'cro·cos'mic (-kŏz'mĭk), mi'cro·cos'mi·cal (-mĭ-kəl) adj., mi'cro·cos'mi·cal·ly adv.