microcompartment

noun

Any of many small enclosures within most cells having a shell of protein; an organelle

OriginEnglish compartment ← Middle French compartiment ← Italian compartimento →
Scrabble 28
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Meanings

nounmicrocompartment (plural microcompartments)

plural microcompartments

  1. biologyAny of many small enclosures within most cells having a shell of protein; an organelle

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*mey-der.?
  2. Ancient Greekμῑκρός (mīkrós)
  3. Ancient Greekμῑκρο- (mīkro-)
  4. Englishmicro-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  6. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  7. Proto-Italic*kom
  8. Proto-Italic*kom-
  9. Latincom-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*perh₃-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*pérh₃tis?
  12. Proto-Italic*partis
  13. Latinpars
  14. Latinpartiō
  15. Latinpartior
  16. Latincompartīrī
  17. Italiancompartire
  18. Italiancompartimento
  19. Middle Frenchcompartiment
  20. Englishcompartment
  21. Englishmicrocompartment

From micro- + compartment.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

microcompartment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microcompartment

MLA

“microcompartment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microcompartment. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “microcompartment,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microcompartment.

Source: microcompartment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.