Epitome

How to spell epitome

7 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce epitome

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does epitome mean?

1. nounA person or thing that is the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class.
2. nounA condensed summary or abridgement of a longer written work.

Epitome in a sentence

• The restored mansion was the epitome of country elegance.

• The scholar published an epitome of the four-volume history for busy readers.

• His calm reply under pressure was the epitome of professionalism.

• Each chapter closes with a brief epitome of its main arguments.

Where does epitome come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word came into English in the early 1500s from Latin epitome, which the Romans had borrowed straight from Greek epitome, meaning 'an abridgement' or 'a summary'. The Greek noun was formed from the verb epitemnein, 'to cut short', built from epi, meaning 'upon' or 'in addition', and temnein, 'to cut', the same root that gives us 'atom' (literally 'uncuttable') and the '-tomy' in 'anatomy'. At first an epitome was a condensed version of a longer written work, a digest that cut a book down to its essentials. From there the sense shifted to 'a perfect example', the single instance that sums up or embodies a whole class of things. The unexpected final syllable trips many writers: the word ends in a sounded '-me' pronounced 'mee', not a silent 'e', so it reads as four syllables rather than the three a reader might guess from its look.

How the word is built

• epi- (upon, in addition)
• tome (from temnein: to cut) -> literally 'a cutting short', a summary