Word of the Day : June 29, 2018

tome \TOHM\ noun

Definition

1 : a volume forming part of a larger work

2 : book; especially : a large or scholarly book

Did You Know?

Tome comes from Latin tomus, which comes from Greek tomos, meaning "section" or "roll of papyrus." Tomos is from the Greek verb temnein, which means "to cut." In ancient times, some of the longest scrolls of papyrus occasionally were divided into sections. When it was first used in English in the 16th century, tome was a book that was a part of a multi-volume work or a major part of a single-volume book. Now a tome is most often simply a large and often ponderous book.

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Aired June 29, 2018

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