Friday, October 11, 2013

Word of the Day -- Tome

-- book; especially :  a large or scholarly book.   

From Merriam Webster's Dictionary: 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
First Known Use: 1519
Tome has been in use for some time, and it appears that the original use was for a large or scholarly book, but it has also meant a part or section of a book.  If you look at the etymology, you see that it has to do with a cut, or a shear, suggesting a piece of a larger work.  Indeed, one of the meanings has to do with a roll of papyrus.  So it would seem that tome has been around a long time, and it's current meaning has to do with a hefty or scholarly book.  For our purposes, we have Tome of the Unclean, a  hefty collection of monsters due out very soon.  
 

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