Etymology

submicroscopic

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Today it means: Smaller than microscopic; too small to be seen even with a microscope Full definition →

English microscopic ← Italian microscopio ← Latin mīcroscopium
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*upó
  2. Proto-Italic*supo
  3. Latinsub
  4. Latinsub-
  5. Englishsub-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*mey-der.?
  7. Ancient Greekμῑκρός (mīkrós)
  8. Proto-Indo-European*speḱ-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*spéḱyeti
  10. Proto-Hellenic*sképt͏̌omai
  11. Ancient Greekσκέπτομαι (sképtomai)
  12. Ancient Greekσκοπός (skopós)
  13. Ancient Greekσκοπέω (skopéō)
  14. Latinmīcroscopium
  15. Italianmicroscopio
  16. Englishmicroscope
  17. Englishmicroscopic
  18. English todaysubmicroscopic

From sub- + microscopic.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.