tomo-,-tom, -toma, -tomic, -tomize, -tome, -tomical, -tomically, -tomist, -tomous, -tomy

Surgical incision or dissection of the brain.

1. The branch of zoology that deals with the study of insects.
2. From French entomologie (1764), coined from Greek entomon, "insect" plus logia, "study of". Entomon is the neuter form of entomos, "having a notch or cut (at the waist)"; so called by Aristotle in reference to the segmented division of insect bodies.

Scientists who study insects (there are close to a million that can be studied) are called entomologists. Then why aren't they called "insectologists"? Well, they are.

The word insect comes from the Latin word insectum, meaning "cut up" or "divided into segments". The plural of insectum, namely insecta, is used by scientists as the name of the taxonomic class that insects belong to. This Latin word was created in order to translate the Greek word for "insect", which is entomon. This Greek word also literally means "cut up" or "divided into segments", and it is the source of the word entomology.

The Greeks coined this term for insects because of the division of insect bodies into three segments, now called the head, thorax, and abdomen.

1. A condensation, summary, digest, synopsis, brief, abstract, or syllabus.
2. The embodiment or summation of certain qualities; as when we say, "He is the epitome of strength."
3. A person or thing which is representative or typical of the characteristics or general quality of a whole class or group.

Example: The VW was once the epitome of low cost transportation.

4. Etymology: literally, "to cut short, to cut down", or "to cut into".

1. A surgical operation for the repair of hernia; also called celotomy and kelotomy.
2. An operation for the relief of irreducible hernia, by cutting through the neck of the sac.

Incision into the breast in order to drain a cyst or to obtain tissue for microscopic study.