DictionaryRoot: mikros
Greek
mikros
small
Forms
- mikros
- micro- — The common form in English compounds.
Origin
An old Greek word whose deeper origin is uncertain.
Note
Scientific use later assigned micro- the precise value of one millionth in measurement names.
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noun
micron
MY-krahn/ˈmaɪkrɑːn/
A unit of length equal to one millionth of a meter.
Etymology
The Greek word for “small” became the name of a precise scientific length, one millionth of a meter, rather than a general description of size.