tomus

Forms

tomus m (genitive tomī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek τόμος (tómos, “a cut, slice; volume”),^[2][3][1] from τέμνω (témnō, “to cut”).^[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Martial is the first to use it, of a cheap piece of papyrus.^[2][5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

In a letter of Marcus Aurelius among Fronto's correspondence it is a part of a larger work, a tome,^[5][8] and Jerome uses it for a book in general.^[5][6] In Ecclesiastical and medieval Latin it meant a writing or book, especially a dogmatic statement of faith;^[9][10] Du Cange glosses it as a booklet, codex or letter, chiefly on matters of faith.^[10] English tome comes from French tome or directly from it.^[4]

Timeline

• 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it of a cheap piece of papyrus.^[2][5][7]
• c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome uses it for a book.^[5][6]
• 1510s – English takes over tome for one volume of a work in several volumes.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A piece or length of papyrus.^[2][5]
2. (Late Latin) A part or volume of a larger work, a tome.^[5][8][6]
3. (Late Latin) A book.^[5][6][11]
4. (Medieval Latin) A writing setting out a dogmatic formula of faith.^[9][10]

Related words

• English tome

Usage notes

Conte warns not to confuse tomis, the dative and ablative plural of tomus, with the same form of tome “caesura”.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
11. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson