cosm-

¹

1. variant of cosmo- before a vowel:

   cosmism.

-cosm

²

1. variant of cosmo- as final element of a compound word:

   microcosm.

Example Sentences

On the west of the city are the garitas of San Cosm and Belen.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use -cosm

What does -cosm mean?

The combining form -cosm is used like a suffix meaning “world” or “universe.” It is very occasionally used in scientific and technical terms.

The form -cosm comes from Greek kósmos, meaning “order, good order, government, world order, the universe.”

What are variants of -cosm?

When used as the first combining form in a term, -cosm becomes cosmo- or cosm-, as in cosmography. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article on cosmo-.

Examples of -cosm

An example of a word you may have encountered that features -cosm is microcosm, “a little world; a world in miniature.” Microcosm comes from Medieval Latin mīcrocosmus, which uses the equivalent of -cosm in that language.

The micro- part of the word means “small,” from Greek mīkrós. The -cosm portion of the word means “world,” as we know. Microcosm literally translates to “small world.”

What are some words that use the combining form -cosm?

• benthocosm
• macrocosm (using the equivalent form of -cosm in Medieval Latin)
• mesocosm
• paracosm

What are some other forms that -cosm may be commonly confused with?

• -ome
• -osis
• -some

Break it down!

The combining form macro- means “large.” With this in mind, what does macrocosm literally mean?