Origin: Greek prefix micro-
Microfilm has 4 different meanings across 2 categories:
film on which materials are photographed at greatly reduced size; useful for storage; a magnification system is used to read the material
"The archivist carefully placed the document under the reader's lens to examine the tiny text stored on the microfilm reel."
a continuous roll of film containing photographs of documents at a greatly reduced size
"The archivist carefully unrolled the microfilm to inspect the faded photographs of the century-old legal deeds stored within."
record on microfilm
"The archivist carefully recorded the century-old letters onto microfilm to preserve them for future generations."
to reproduce documents on such film
"The archivist decided to microfilm the century-old letters before they deteriorated further in the heat."