summa

[ soom-uh, suhm-uh ]

/ ˈsʊm ə, ˈsʌm ə /

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noun, plural sum·mae

[soom-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.

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Origin of summa

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

Words nearby summa

Sumerian, Sumerology, Sumgait, sumi, sumi-e, summa, summable, summa cum laude, summand, summarily, summarization

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use summa in a sentence

The Citi Bike system is thus a summa of all conservative fears.
Why Conservatives Should Love Bike Share|Daniel Gross|June 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Amanpour graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island with a B.A. in journalism.
See Who’s Coming to Women in the World 2013: Speakers & Participants||March 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Before meeting her husband, she reached an upper rung on Wall Street, after graduating summa cum laude from Georgetown.
South Carolina's Original Sinners|Jack Bass|June 30, 2009|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
In the cavea media and the cavea summa the seats were of stone resting on the bank of earth.
The Private Life of the Romans|Harold Whetstone Johnston
I'm dummed if there ain't ol' Santa Claus a comin' t' th' Forks in th' summa time.
The Shepherd of the Hills|Harold Bell Wright
Philosophy is developed scientifically in his "Contra Gentes" and theology, scientifically in his great "Summa."
Education: How Old The New|James J. Walsh
Summum jus, summa injuria—The Chief Justice—the greatest wrong!
The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. II (of II)|Charles James Lever
Cardinal Cajetan, from whose famous Commentary on the Summa we have occasionally quoted, is unfortunately too little known.
On Prayer and The Contemplative Life|St. Thomas Aquinas

British Dictionary definitions for summa

summa

/ (ˈsʊmɑː) /

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