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)

  (file)

• 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, [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:

     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], chapter XVI, in Romance and Reality. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, 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

   • 1611, Thomas Coryate, Coryat's Crudities hastily gobbled up in Five Months Travels in France, Italy, &c:

     Having now so amply declared unto thee most of the principal things of this thrice-renowned and illustrious city, I will briefly by way of an epitome mention most of the other particulars thereof, and so finally shut up this narration: there are reported to be in Venice and the circumjacent islands two hundred churches in which are one hundred forth-three pairs of organs, fifty-four monasteries, twenty-six nunneries, fifty-six tribunals or places of judgment, seventeen hospitals, six companies or fraternities, whereof I have before spoken; one hundred and sixty-five marble statues of worthy personages, partly equestrial, partly pedestrial, which are erected in sundry places of the city, to the honour of those that either at home have prudently administered the commonweal, or abroad valiantly fought for the same.

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 (ja) (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 (hu), (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, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “epitome”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Italian

Noun

epitome f (plural epitomi)

1. epitome

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]
• (modern Italianate 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^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Maltese

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian epitome.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ.pɪˈtɔː.mɛ/

Noun

epitome f (plural epitomi)

1. epitome

Related terms

• epitomizza

 

Spanish

Verb

epitome

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