tomo-

1. a combining form meaning “a cut, section,” used in the formation of compound words:

   tomography.

tomo

/ ˈtɒmɒ /

noun

1. a shaft formed by the action of water on limestone or volcanic rock

Word History and Origins

Origin of tomo-¹

Combining form representing Greek tómos a cut, section; -tome

Word History and Origins

Origin of tomo-¹

Māori

Example Sentences

Sahibs smoke them, sepoys smoke them, drivers and followers smoke them, and the Tomo coolies smoke nothing else.

From Project Gutenberg

We bought 168 gantos fysh oyle of our hostice of Bingana Tomo for a mas ganto.

From Project Gutenberg

Soe we made 40 leagues this day and night, and came to an ancor at Shemuts, 10 leages short of Bingana Tomo.

From Project Gutenberg

We departed from Shemuttes, and arived at Bingana Tomo within night, having made 10 leagues.

From Project Gutenberg

One of the proverbs handed down from the hoary past is: "Kumpu no ada to tomo ni ten we itadakazu."

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use Tomo-

What does tomo- mean?

Tomo- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “a cut, section.” It is used in a few medical terms.

Tomo- comes from the Greek tómos, meaning “cut, slice.” This root, which can also mean “piece, roll of paper, or book,” is also the source of the word tome. Crack open the history of tome at our entry for the word.

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

Related to tomo- are the combining forms -ectomy, -tome, -tomy, and -tomous. Slice into their specific meanings at our Words That Use articles for the forms.

Examples of tomo-

One example of a term from medicine that features the combining form tomo- is tomography. Tomography refers to various techniques that are used to obtain an X-ray photograph of a selected plane section of the human body or some other solid object.

As we know, tomo- means “a cut, section.” The second part of the word, -graphy, denotes the process of drawing, representing, recording, imaging, or the like. Tomography has a literal sense of “getting an image of a section.”

What are some words that use or are related to the combining form tomo-?

• tomium
• tomogram
• tomograph

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

• topo-
• tono-

Most words that begin with the letters tomo- do not use the combining form tomo- to denote “a cut, section.” Tomorrow is an example. Learn what the letters in tomorrow are doing today at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

The combining form –gram means “drawing” or “image.” What does tomogram literally mean?