-tomy | Meaning Of Suffix -tomy By Etymonline

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Origin and history of -tomy

-tomy

word-forming element meaning "a cutting" (especially a surgical incision or removal), from Greek -tomia "a cutting of," from tome "a cutting, section" (from PIE root *tem- "to cut").

Entries linking to -tomy

craniotomy(n.)

a cutting open of the skull (especially of a fetal head when it obstructs delivery), 1817, from cranio- "of the skull" + -tomy "a cutting."

episiotomy(n.)

1869, from Greek epision "the pubic region" + -tomy "a cutting."

• lithotomy
• lobotomy
• necrotomy
• tracheotomy
• *tem-
• See All Related Words (7)

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necrotomy"dissection of dead bodies," 1821; see necro- "corpse" -tomy "a cutting." Necrotomy. We venture to employ this word in the room of post mortem appearances, and other incongruous expressions which deform our medical style. It is constructed on principles strictly analogous to thocantankerous"marked by ill-tempered contradiction or opposition," 1772, said by Grose to be "a Wiltshire word," conjectured to be from an alteration (influenced perhaps by raucous) of a dialectal survival of Middle English contakour "troublemaker" (c. 1300), which is from Anglo-French contecresentc. 1600, "feel pain or distress" (a sense now obsolete); 1620s, "take (something) ill, consider as an injury or affront; be in some degree angry or provoked at," from French ressentir "feel pain, regret," from Old French resentir "feel again, feel in turn" (13c.), from re-, here remorse"intense and painful self-condemnation and penitence due to consciousness of guilt; the pain of a guilty conscience," late 14c., from Old French remors (Modern French remords) and directly from Medieval Latin remorsum "a biting back or in return," noun use of neuter past participblue"of the color of the clear sky," c. 1300, bleu, blwe, etc., "sky-colored," also "livid, lead-colored," from Old French blo, bleu "pale, pallid, wan, light-colored; blond; discolored; blue, blue-gray," from Frankish *blao or some other Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *blæwaz magiclate 14c., magike, "art of influencing or predicting events and producing marvels using hidden natural forces," also "supernatural art," especially the art of controlling the actions of spiritual or superhuman beings; from Old French magique "magic; magical," from Late Latin magioathMiddle English oth, from Old English að "judicial swearing, solemn appeal (to deity, sacred relics, etc.), in witness of truth or a promise," from Proto-Germanic *aithaz (source also of Old Norse eiðr, Swedish ed, Old Saxon, Old Frisian eth, Middle Dutch eet, Dutch eed, German eitrump"playing card of a suit ranking above others," 1520s, alteration of triumph (n.), which also was the name of a card game...."fabricate, devise," 1690s, from trump "deceive, cheat" (1510s), from Middle English trumpen (late 14c.), from Old French tromper "to deceive," of uncertainhiggledy-piggledy"confusedly, hurriedly," 1590s, a "vocal gesture" [OED] probably formed from pig and the animal's suggestions of mess and disorder. Reduplications in the h-/p- pattern are common (as in hanky-panky, hocus-pocus, hinch(y)-pinch(y), an obsolete children's game, attested from c. 160laconic"concise, abrupt," 1580s, literally "of or pertaining to the region around ancient Sparta" in Greece, probably via Latin Laconicus "of Laconia," from Greek Lakonikos "Laconian, of Laconia," adjective from Lakon "person from Lakonia," the district around Sparta in southern Greece

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‘cite’Page URL:https://www.etymonline.com/word/-tomyCopyHTML Link:<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/-tomy">Etymology of -tomy by etymonline</a>CopyAPA Style:Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of -tomy. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved January 22, 2026, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/-tomyCopyChicago Style:Harper Douglas, "Etymology of -tomy," Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed January 22, 2026, https://www.etymonline.com/word/-tomy.CopyMLA Style:Harper, Douglas. "Etymology of -tomy." Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/-tomy. Accessed 22 January, 2026.CopyIEEE Style:D. Harper. "Etymology of -tomy." Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/-tomy (accessed January 22, 2026).CopyRemove AdsAdvertisement

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TrendingDictionary entries near -tomy

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