micropatriology

English

Alternative forms

• micropatrology

Etymology

Perhaps from Portuguese micropatriologia, in-turn from English micropatrology, from micro- (“very small”) +‎ Latin patria (“country”) + -ology (“branch of learning; a study of a particular subject”), coined by the International Micropatrological Society in 1973. Perhaps a classical compound via translating micronation into Latin as micropatria (literally “microcountry”). The micropatriology variant is first attested before 24 April 2001 in a glossary listing of terms found in micronational parlance, wherein micropatrology is absent. Portuguese micropatriologia is attested as early as October 1998.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌmaɪkɹəʊˌpeɪtɹiˈɒlədʒi/

• Audio (US)

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Noun

micropatriology (uncountable)

1. (micronationalism) The study of micronations and micronationalism.
   • 2001 December 29, unidyne [Steven F. Scharff], “New Years Greetings”, in alt.politics.micronations‎^[4], Google Groups:

     Wishing all in micropatriology a better 2002 than 2001 was!

   • 2007, Scott Alexander, Microscope‎^[5], page 20:

     The strictly enforced dichotomy between "good nations“ and "bug nations" not only crippled micropatriology in the same way that macronational racism at some points crippled anthropology, but led to much fiercer and more vicious debates than tended to occur later.

   • 2011 August 12, Craitman [H. Pellegrino], “Re: sir my requests not replied”, in Micras Forums‎^[6]:

     The forum is not locked, which I believe is your concern. If you reply there, we can discuss your claim :)
     
     Your question about micropatriology has also been replied to in its original thread.

   • 2017 August 20, William J. Soergel, “Re-Examining the Definition of Realism: Five Years after the Publication of the "Fire of the Central Hearth"”, in Micropatriological Notes‎^[7]:

     While micropatriology is an interdisciplinary field, the historians amongst us would certainly encourage restraint in categorisation, even if these sorts of heuristic devices might be useful. No one micronation is very much alike with any other.

   • 2021, Harry Hobbs, George Williams, Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty (Cambridge Studies in Constitutional Law), Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 74:

     They extend to social media sites like Facebook, Reddit and MicroWiki, where communities share and discuss micronationalism, a practice they refer to as the social science of micropatriology.

2. (very rare) Synonym of micropatrology (“the study of microstates; sovereign countries with very small populations, land areas, or both”).
   • 2022, Peter Marks, Jennifer A. Wagner-Lawlor, Fátima Vieira, The Palgrave Handbook of Utopian and Dystopian Literatures, Springer International Publishing, →ISBN, page 282:

     The section of "Micronationalism" provides relevant information on the history and heterogeneity of the micronational movement, as well as on micropatriology, a "scientific discipline that studies micro-states, micro-nations and separatist movements in general."

Derived terms

• classical micropatriology
• micropatriological
• micropatriologically
• micropatriologist