-tomy

/-təmi/

//-təmi// suffix

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"tomy" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“-tomy” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a suffix. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Cutting, incision, section

Corpus desk

Index EN-tomy · -tomy · English

-tomy · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "-" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for -tomy
PropertyValue
Headword-tomy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechSuffix
IPA/-təmi/
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “-tomy” in English

-tomyranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

-tomy is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as asuffix, transcribed /-təmi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for -tomy in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek τέμνω (témnō, “I cut”). The correct English form is -tomy, spelled --T-O-M-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Cutting, incision, section
  2. 2
    Cutting, incision, section

Etymology

From Ancient Greek τέμνω (témnō, “I cut”).

This word in other languages

-tomie(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "-tomy"?
"-tomy" is spelled --T-O-M-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /-təmi/.
What does "-tomy" mean?
As a suffix, "-tomy" means: Cutting, incision, section
How do you pronounce "-tomy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "-tomy" is /-təmi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "-tomy"?
From Ancient Greek τέμνω (témnō, “I cut”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list