microcontinent

M3I1C3R1O1C3O1N1T1I1N1E1N1T1

noun

A fragment of continental crust that has cleaved off its parent tectonic plate.

OriginEnglish continent ← Latin continens ← Proto-Italic *tenēō →
Scrabble 20
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Meanings

nounmicrocontinent (plural microcontinents)

plural microcontinents

  1. geographyA fragment of continental crust that has cleaved off its parent tectonic plate.

    Seychelles can first be considered to have existed 62 mya when the Seychelles microcontinent split from India as a result of intense activity in the Carlsberg ridge which started 64 mya[…]

    2013, Biogeography of the terrestrial and freshwater biota of the Seychelles islands, page 30

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. Latincon-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*ten-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*tn̥eh₁yéti
  12. Proto-Italic*tenēō
  13. Latinteneō
  14. Latincontineō
  15. Latincontinens
  16. Englishcontinent
  17. Englishmicrocontinent

From micro- + continent.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

microcontinent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microcontinent

MLA

“microcontinent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microcontinent. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “microcontinent,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microcontinent.

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