*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -otomy

Etymology tree Ancient Greek -ο- (-o-)der. Latin -o-bor. English -o- Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Ancient Greek τέμνω (témnō)der. English -tomy English -otomy From -o- + -tomy.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
suffix

Alternative form of -tomy.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Ancient Greek -ο- (-o-)der. Latin -o-bor. English -o- Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Ancient Greek τέμνω (témnō)der. English -tomy English -otomy From -o- + -tomy.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "-o-<id:connective>",
        "4": "-tomy",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nAncient Greek -ο- (-o-)der.\nLatin -o-bor.\nEnglish -o-\nProto-Indo-European *temh₁-\nProto-Indo-European *-né-\nAncient Greek τέμνω (témnō)der.\nEnglish -tomy\nEnglish -otomy\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"connective\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"connective\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"-ο-\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-o-\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-o-\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"to cut\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*temh₁-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"nasal infix\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-né-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"τέμνω\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-tomy\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-otomy\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-otomy\">\nFrom -o- + -tomy."
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "-o-<id:connective>",
        "4": "-tomy",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nAncient Greek -ο- (-o-)der.\nLatin -o-bor.\nEnglish -o-\nProto-Indo-European *temh₁-\nProto-Indo-European *-né-\nAncient Greek τέμνω (témnō)der.\nEnglish -tomy\nEnglish -otomy\nFrom -o- + -tomy."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "-ο-",
      "-ο-#Ancient_Greek:_connective"
    ],
    [
      "-o-",
      "-o-#Latin:_connective"
    ],
    [
      "-o-",
      "-o-#English:_connective"
    ],
    [
      "*temh₁-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/temh₁-#Proto-Indo-European:_to_cut"
    ],
    [
      "*-né-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-né-#Proto-Indo-European:_nasal_infix"
    ],
    [
      "τέμνω",
      "τέμνω#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "-tomy",
      "-tomy#English"
    ],
    [
      "-o-",
      "-o-#English:_connective"
    ],
    [
      "-tomy",
      "-tomy#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of -tomy."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "11523820e431adef09a9ee52ebe199d1e83c8ab1093001a28228997758052c2a",
      "rawRecordSha256": "318aeacaa751e234d1215bdf17f3b925f009f9ad35b26e706cc6de7f4778b843",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 462061
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -otomy →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LW90b215