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atomy1

[at-uh-mee]
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noun, plural at·o·mies.
  1. an atom; mote.
  2. a small creature; pygmy.
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Origin of atomy1

1585–95; singular use of Latin atomī, plural of atomus atom

atomy2

[at-uh-mee]
noun, plural at·o·mies.
  1. a skeleton.
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Origin of atomy2

1590–1600; variant of anatomy (taken as an atomy)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for atomies

Historical Examples

  • Bring a good glass into the service, and you see a whole cloud of these atomies.

    The Sea

    Jules Michelet

  • The surgeons are atomies and pettifoggers, who kill more than they cure.

British Dictionary definitions for atomies

atomy1

noun plural -mies archaic
  1. an atom or minute particle
  2. a minute creature
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Word Origin

C16: from Latin atomī atoms, but used as if singular; see atom

atomy2

noun plural -mies
  1. an obsolete word for skeleton
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Word Origin

C16: from mistaken division of anatomy (as if an atomy)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for atomies

n.

1590s, "atoms," also "diminutive beings," from atomy, from Latin atomi, plural of atomus (see atom), but taken as a singular in English and re-pluralized in the native way. Perhaps also in some cases a plural of atomy (from misdivision of anatomy).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper