tome

1 of 2

noun

1
: book
especially : a large or scholarly book
2
: a volume forming part of a larger work

-tome

2 of 2

noun combining form

1
: part : segment
myotome
2
: cutting instrument
microtome

Examples of tome in a Sentence

Noun a long tome on European history picked up a thick tome on the Roman Empire at a used book store
Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
The most complete studies were done by the British archaeologist and scholar Thomas Ashby, who scoured the remotest corners of the Roman Campagna from 1906 to 1925, and produced a magisterial tome, The Aqueducts of Ancient Rome, which was published posthumously by his wife in 1935. Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Mar. 2025 Phew! Related Articles The 306-page French language tome, published by Editions Fayard, debuted Thursday night at 7L, Lagerfeld’s famous Left Bank bookstore, where Gaubert signed copies for the likes of Rick Owens, Michèle Lamy, Elie Top, Martine Sitbon, Carine Roitfeld and Sarah Andelman. Miles Socha, WWD, 21 Mar. 2025 Fans of physical media can expect to peruse some 5,000 titles, including ones from local chefs, rare and esoteric selections and historic tomes dating from World War II and earlier. John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2025 Producer Judd Apatow is also interviewed for his take on the magic of the movie in a tome that combines new interviews with a Vanity Fair oral history Buss did in 2022. Rachel Flynn, People.com, 26 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tome

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin tomus, from Greek tomos section, roll of papyrus, tome, from temnein to cut; akin to Middle Irish tamnaid he lops, Polish ciąć to cut, and perhaps to Latin tondēre to shear

Noun combining form

Greek tomos

First Known Use

Noun

1519, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of tome was in 1519

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Cite this Entry

“Tome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tome. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

tome

noun
: a big thick book

More from Merriam-Webster on tome

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