Microservice

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small, self-contained software component that performs one specific business function and can be deployed and scaled independently of other parts of an application
2. An independently deployable unit of software that handles a single narrow task and communicates with other such units over a network
3. A focused, loosely coupled service within a larger application architecture that is built, deployed and scaled on its own

Etymology: "Microservice" is a plain compound: "micro-," from Greek "mikros" meaning "small," joined to "service." The combination describes a software architecture in which an application is split into many small, independently deployed components, each handling one narrow function and communicating with the others over a network. The "micro-" prefix here is the familiar one from words like "microscope" and "microchip," and it carries the same sense of smallness. Its use in computing reflects the broader pattern of attaching "micro-" to technical things to mean small in scale rather than small in importance.