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Miniature vs Microcosm - What's the difference?

miniature | microcosm |

As nouns the difference between miniature and microcosm

is that miniature is greatly diminished size or form; reduced scale while microcosm is human nature or the human body as representative of the wider universe; man considered as a miniature counterpart of divine or universal nature.

As an adjective miniature

is smaller than normal.

As a verb miniature

is to make smaller than normal; to reproduce in miniature.

miniature

Noun

(en noun)
  • Greatly diminished size or form; reduced scale.
  • A small version of something; a model of reduced scale.
  • There was a miniature of a whaling ship in a glass bottle over the mantlepiece.
  • A small, highly detailed painting, a portrait miniature.
  • The art of painting such highly detailed miniature works.
  • An illustration in an illuminated manuscript.
  • A musical composition which is short in duration.
  • Sacha composed a miniature for strings as a final project at the conservatory.
  • (gaming) A token in a game representing a unit or character.
  • Jack had dozens of miniatures of Napoleonic footsoldiers painted in detailed period regalia for his wargames.
  • Lettering in red; rubric distinction.
  • A particular feature or trait.
  • (Massinger)

    Derived terms

    * miniaturist

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Smaller than normal.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-09-06, author= Alok Jha
  • , volume=189, issue=13, page=39, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Miniature brains grown in lab , passage=Scientists have grown miniature human brains in test tubes, creating a "tool" that will allow them to watch how the organs develop in the womb and, they hope, increase their understanding of neurological and mental problems. ¶ Just a few millimetres across, the "cerebral organoids" are built up of layers of brain cells with defined regions that resemble those seen in immature, embryonic brains.}}

    Derived terms

    * miniature poodle * miniaturism

    Verb

    (miniatur)
  • To make smaller than normal; to reproduce in miniature.
  • ----

    microcosm

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Human nature or the human body as representative of the wider universe; man considered as a miniature counterpart of divine or universal nature.
  • * 1972', Rolf Soellner, ''Shakespeare's Patterns of Self-Knowledge'', Chapter 3: '''''Microcosm and Macrocosm: Framing The Picture of Man , page 43:
  • The Christian humanists were emphatic in their demand that a man who wishes to understand himself must realize that he is a little world that reflects on a smaller scale the larger world of the universe.On the other hand, the whole idea of man as a microcosm was questioned by those who were not in sympathy with the Christian humanists.
  • (obsolete) The human body; a person.
  • * (William Shakespeare), , First Folio 1623, Act 2, Scene 1:
  • If you see this in the Map of my Microcosme , followes it that I am knowne well enough too?
  • A smaller system which is seen as representative (of) a larger one.
  • * 1999 , Barry McIntyre, The Guardian , 16 Dec 1999:
  • ‘In a sense, the problems experienced at Bristol are like a microcosm of what is happening in the NHS - experienced surgeons battling against difficult circumstances, with inadequate resources and in a culture where the finding of scapegoats appears to be put before the finding of solutions.’
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=October 1 , author=Phil Dawkes , title=Sunderland 2 - 2 West Brom , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Steve Bruce's side have swung from highs to lows in what has been at best a wildly inconsistent start to the season. They experienced a microcosm of this within the opening 45 minutes at the Stadium of Light.}}
  • (ecology) A small natural ecosystem; an artificial ecosystem set up as an experimental model.
  • * 2009 , Jerry C. Smrchek, Maurice G. Zeeman, Chapter 3: Assessing Risks to Ecological Systems from Chemicals'', Peter P. Calow (editor), ''Handbook of Environmental Risk Assessment and Management , page 53:
  • The method is relatively labour intensive (24-30 microcosms' are run) and more difficult to interpret when compared with other ' microcosm methods (Shannon et al. 1986; Cairns & Cherry 1993).

    Synonyms

    * (smaller system representative of a larger one) (l)

    Antonyms

    * macrocosm ----