- Epitomes
- Epitome E*pit"o*me, n.; pl. {Epitomes}. [L., fr. Gr. ? a
surface incision, also, and abridgment, fr. ? to cut into,
cut short; 'epi` upon + te`mnein to cut: cf. F. ['e]pitome.
See {Tome}.]
1. A work in which the contents of a former work are reduced
within a smaller space by curtailment and condensation; a
brief summary; an abridgement.
[1913 Webster]
[An] epitome of the contents of a very large book. --Sydney Smith. [1913 Webster]
2. A compact or condensed representation of anything; something possessing conspicuously or to a high degree the qualities of a class. [1913 Webster +PJC]
An epitome of English fashionable life. --Carlyle. [1913 Webster]
A man so various that he seemed to be Not one, but all mankind's epitome. --Dryden.
Syn: Abridgement; compendium; compend; abstract; synopsis; abbreviature. See {Abridgment}. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.