epitome

epitome

See also: epítome

English

WOTD – 19 September 2010

Etymology

From Middle French, from Latin epitomē, from Ancient Greek ἐπιτομή (epitomḗ, “an abridgment, also a surface-incision”), from ἐπιτέμνω (epitémnō, “I cut upon the surface, cut short, abridge”), from ἐπι- (epi-, “up”) +‎ τέμνω (témnō, “to cut”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /əˈpɪt.ə.mi/, /ɪˈpɪt.ə.mi/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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Noun

epitome (plural epitomes or epitomai)

1. The embodiment or encapsulation of a class of items.

   Synonyms: exemplar, model, type; see also Thesaurus:exemplar, Thesaurus:model

   • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene v], page 27:

     This is a poore Epitome of yours, / Which by th'interpretation of full time, / May ſhew like all your ſelfe.

   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, OCLC 1167497017:

     But first I took up Ayesha's kirtle and the gauzy scarf with which she had been wont to hide her dazzling loveliness from the eyes of men, and, averting my head so that I might not look upon it, covered up that dreadful relic of the glorious dead, that shocking epitome of human beauty and human life.

2. A representative example.

   Synonyms: quintessential, poster child; see also Thesaurus:exemplar

   • 1988, “Don't Believe the Hype”, in It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, performed by Public Enemy:

     The minute they see me, fear me / I'm the epitome of "public enemy"

3. The height; the best; the most vivid.

   Synonyms: acme, greatest

   • 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Romance and Reality. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], OCLC 24531354, page 240:

     He looks the very epitome of fright: I do not think he could eat one of those apples, if it were given him.

4. A brief summary of a text.

   Synonyms: abstract, synopsis

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Usage notes

The sense “the height, the best” is considered incorrect by some; instead, pinnacle may be preferred.

Antonyms

• antithesis

Derived terms

Derived terms

• epitomic
• epitomical
• epitomize
• epitomous

Related terms

• epitomator
• epitomist
• epitomizer

Translations

embodiment or encapsulation of

Afrikaans: toonbeeld Albanian: mishërim (sq) Arabic: مَثَال‎ m (maṯāl) Belarusian: ўвасабле́нне (ŭvasabljénnje) Bulgarian: въплъще́ние (bg) n (vǎplǎšténie) Chinese: Mandarin: 縮影／缩影 (zh) (suōyǐng) Czech: ztělesnění Danish: indbegrebet Dutch: verwezenlijking (nl) f, belichaming (nl) f, personificatie (nl) f Estonian: epitoom Finnish: ruumiillistuma French: résumé (fr), épitomé (fr) m Galician: epítome German: Verkörperlichung f Greek: επιτομή (el) (epitomí) Ancient: ἐπιτομή f (epitomḗ) Hebrew: תמצית‎ (he) (tamtsot) Icelandic: ímynd (is) Italian: epitome (it) Japanese: 縮図 (しゅくず, shukuzu) Norwegian: innbegrepet Persian: خلاصه‎ (fa) Polish: ucieleśnienie (pl) n Portuguese: epítome (pt) Russian: воплоще́ние (ru) (voploščénije), олицетворе́ние (ru) n (olicetvorénije) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: епитом m, утјеловљење n, персонификација, оваплоћење n Roman: epitom m, utjelovljenje (sh) n, personifikacija (sh) f, ovaploćenje n Spanish: epítome (es) Swedish: sammandrag (sv), personifiering (sv) c, inbegrepp n, inkarnation (sv) c Turkish: özet (tr) Yiddish: יפּיטאַמי‎ (ypitami)

representative example

Finnish: ruumiillistuma, malliesimerkki French: personnification (fr) f, incarnation (fr) f Hungarian: típuspélda, megtestesülés (hu), megtestesítő, (in adjectival role) megtestesült (hu), (in adjectival role) két lábon járó Italian: personificazione (it) f, incarnazione (it) f Romanian: personificare (ro) f Russian: образец (ru) m (obrazec) Swedish: personifikation (sv)

the height; the best

Dutch: toppunt (nl) n Finnish: ruumiillistuma Italian: apice (it) m Russian: эталон (ru) m (etalon)

summary

Bulgarian: резюме (bg) n (rezjume) Dutch: samenvatting (nl) f, synopsis (nl) f, uittreksel (nl) n, excerpt (nl) n Finnish: tiivistelmä (fi), abstrakti (fi), yhteenveto (fi) French: résumé (fr), abrégé (fr) German: Abriss (de) m Greek: Ancient Greek: ἐπιτομή f (epitomḗ) Hungarian: összegzés (hu), összefoglalás (hu), kivonat (hu), foglalat (hu), lényeg (hu) Irish: gearrinsint f Italian: compendio (it) m, sommario (it) m, sunto (it) m, sinossi (it) f, epitome (it) Portuguese: epítome (pt) Russian: конспе́кт (ru) m (konspékt), кра́ткое изложе́ние n (krátkoje izložénije), резюме́ (ru) n (rezjumɛ́) Serbo-Croatian: sinopsis (sh), epitom Spanish: epítome (es), resumen (es), sinopsis (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Manx: (please verify) aagherrid m

Further reading

• epitome on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• epitome in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• epitome in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

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Italian

Noun

epitome f (plural epitomi)

1. epitome

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Latin

Alternative forms

• epitoma

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἐπιτομή (epitomḗ), from ἐπιτέμνω (epitémnō), from ἐπί (epí) + τέμνω (témnō, “to cut”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /eˈpi.to.meː/, [ɛˈpɪt̪ɔmeː]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /eˈpi.to.me/, [eˈpiːt̪ome]

Noun

epitomē f (genitive epitomēs); first declension

1. epitome, abridgement, synopsis

Declension

First-declension noun (Greek-type).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	epitomē	epitomae
Genitive	epitomēs	epitomārum
Dative	epitomae	epitomīs
Accusative	epitomēn	epitomās
Ablative	epitomē	epitomīs
Vocative	epitomē	epitomae

Descendants

• Catalan: epítom
• English: epitome
• Galician: epítome
• Portuguese: epítome
• Spanish: epítome

References

• “epitome”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “epitome”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• epitome in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
• “epitome”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• epitome in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎, pre-publication website, 2005-2016

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Spanish

Verb

epitome

1. inflection of epitomar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative