a unit of radioactivity, equal to one millionth of a curie; 3.70 × 104 disintegrations per second
Symbol:: μCi, μc
Word origin
[1910–15; micro- + curie]This word is first recorded in the period 1910–15. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: blackout, carbon cycle, cat and mouse, coverage, grass rootsmicro- is a combining form with the meanings “small” (microcosm; microgamete), “very small in comparison with others of its kind” (microcomputer; microlith), “too small to be seen by the unaided eye” (microfossil; microorganism), “dealing with extremely minute organisms, organic structures, or quantities ofa substance” (microdissection; microscope), “localized, restricted in scope or area” (microburst; microhabitat), “(of a discipline) focusing on a restricted area” (microeconomics), “containing or dealing with texts that require enlargement to be read” (microfilm; microreader), “one millionth” (microgram)