summa

[soo m-uh, suhm-uh]

noun, plural sum·mae

[soo m-ahy, suhm-ee] /ˈsʊm aɪ, ˈsʌm i/, sum·mas.

a comprehensive work or series of works covering, synthesizing, or summarizing a particular field or subject.
a work or series of works that is a summary of all human knowledge.

Origin of summa

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin; Latin: sum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for summa

Contemporary Examples of summa

The Citi Bike system is thus a summa of all conservative fears.
Why Conservatives Should Love Bike Share
Daniel Gross
June 9, 2013
But the compelling weight of her experience is revealed in her résumé: summa cum laude from Princeton, editor of Yale Law Review.
A Persistent Pioneer
Patricia J. Williams
May 26, 2009
He took care to use the word “lynch” in his summa on behalf of Mr. Burris.
Carnival of the Shameless
Christopher Buckley
January 4, 2009

Historical Examples of summa

"To the summa folks," Clementina explained, innocent of satire.
Ragged Lady, Complete
William Dean Howells
There is no summa of the Leibnitzian science and philosophy.
The Catholic World. Volume II; Numbers 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
E. Rameur
In support of the allegations of the text, consult the Summa.
The Catholic World, Vol. X, October 1869
Various
As heretofore, I follow the exposition of the Summa theologiae.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume II of II)
Henry Osborn Taylor
Called also his Summa philosophica, to distinguish it from his Summa theologiae.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume II of II)
Henry Osborn Taylor

British Dictionary definitions for summa

summa

noun plural -mae (-miː)

medieval Christianity theol a compendium of theology, philosophy, or canon law, or sometimes of all three together. The Summa Theologica of St Thomas Aquinas, written between 1265 and 1274, was the most famous of all such compendia
rare a comprehensive work or survey

Word Origin for summa

C15: from Latin: sum 1

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