-tomy

1. a combining form meaning “cutting, incision” of an organ, “excision” of an object, as specified by the initial element ( appendectomy; lithotomy ); also occurring in abstract nouns corresponding to adjectives ending in -tomous ( dichotomy ).

-tomy

combining form

1. indicating a surgical cutting of a specified part or tissue

   lobotomy

Word History and Origins

Origin of -tomy¹

Representing Greek -tomia; -tome, -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of -tomy¹

from Greek -tomia; see -tome

Example Sentences

Tomy Tran, a father of three from Oklahoma, said, “I’ve been to some of these indoor places and it’s more like a jungle gym. Here, my kids will go into the area, pick up the book and actually start reading it as if they’re in the story.”

From New York Times

One of the companies behind its development is Tomy, who created the Transformers toys.

From BBC

In 2011, she returned home to marry Tomy Thomas in a match arranged by her family.

From BBC

A cool new take on the original Tomy Waterful games, these handheld, pocket-sized, non-electronic sensory travel games from Seattle’s Sky Castle Toys have floating treasures, glitter and squishy buttons.

From Seattle Times

The other prose finalists are László Krasznahorkai’s “Spadework for a Palace,” translated from Hungarian by John Batki; B. Jeyamohan’s “Stories of the True,” translated from Tamil by Priyamvada Ramkumar; and Sheela Tomy’s debut novel “Valli,” translated from Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil.

From Seattle Times

Words That Use -tomy

What does -tomy mean?

The combining form -tomy used like a suffix has several meanings. In medical terms, it refers to “cutting,” usually in reference to the surgical incision into an organ but sometimes as part of the removal of an object from the body.

The combining form -tomy is also occasionally used to form abstract nouns in reference to some type of “division,” as in dichotomy, “division into two parts.”

The combining form -tomy comes from the Greek -tomia, meaning “cutting,” which is based on the verb témnein, “to cut.”

Related to -tomy are the combining forms -tome, -tomous, and tomo-. Also related to -tomy is -ectomy, which literally means “cutting out of” and specifically refers to the excision or removal of organs, as in a tonsillectomy.

Learn more about -ectomy in our Words That Use article for the form.

Also related to tómos is atom. What’s the big idea behind atoms and cutting? Find out in our Origin section for this term.

Examples of -tomy

An example of a word you may have encountered that features -tomy is craniotomy, “the operation of opening the skull, usually for operations on the brain.”

The combining form cranio- may also look familiar: it represents the cranium, also known as “skull.” The form -tomy means “incision,” as we’ve seen. So, craniotomy literally translates to “skull incision.”

What are some words that use the combining form -tomy?

• arthrotomy
• adenotomy
• autotomy
• blepharotomy
• canthotomy
• cardiotomy
• colotomy
• colpotomy
• cystotomy
• duodenotomy
• enterotomy
• fasciotomy
• gastroenterotomy
• gastrotomy
• hysterotomy
• ileotomy
• jejunotomy
• leukotomy
• lobotomy
• myotomy
• necrotomy
• osteotomy
• pleurotomy
• salpingotomy
• tracheotomy
• tendotomy
• ventriculotomy
• xylotomy

What are some other forms that -tomy may be commonly confused with?

• -stome
• -stomy
• -stomous
• tono-

Break it down!

The combining form entero- means “intestine,” a major organ in the digestive system. What does the surgical procedure of an enterotomy involve?