mosaic means containing cells of varying genetic constitution.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, mosaic ranks #10,508 of 42,752 for Qualifying.
mosaic is pronounced /məʊˈzeɪk/.
Why “mosaic” is a great word
A picture or pattern produced by arranging small colored pieces of hard material into a coherent whole, or a biological entity composed of genetically distinct cell lines. Its name journeys from Middle French mosaïque, from post-classical Latin Mosaicus (5th century), meaning 'of Moses,' from Latin Moses, with the artistic sense arising from association with the Greek mouseion ('a place of the Muses, mosaic work'). Unlike a 'collage,' which celebrates the jarring edges of disparate fragments, or a biological 'chimera,' which fuses cells from distinct origins, a mosaic insists on unity wrought from multiplicity. It is the glint of evening light caught in a thousand glass squares to form a saint’s halo, the cool tessellated floor of a Roman villa worn smooth by centuries, or the quiet marvel of a leaf displaying two shades of green from a silent cellular divergence—a testament that wholeness is both made of, and distinct from, every one of its fractures.
Etymology
From Middle French mosaïque, from Italian mosaico, from Medieval Latin musaicum, from Late Latin musivum (opus), from Latin museum, musaeum, probably from Ancient Greek Μουσεῖον (Mouseîon), shrine of the Muses (Μοῦσα (Moûsa)). Doublet of museum.
adj
- Containing cells of varying genetic constitution.
- Pertaining to Moses, or the writings and traditions attributed to him.e.g.“Mosaic law”
noun
- A piece of artwork created by placing colored pieces (usually tiles, either regular or irregular in shape) in a pattern so as to create a picture.
- Pixelization. (a method of censorship)
- An individual composed of two or more cell lines of different genetic or chromosomal constitution, but from the same zygote.
- Any of several viral diseases that cause mosaic-like patterns to appear on leaves.
- A composite picture made from overlapping photographs.
- Any composite structure made from diverse elements.
verb
- To arrange in a mosaic.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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