CS Knowledge Base

Clipping of English Tombulu.

tom

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Tombulu.

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Tombulu terms

• (British) IPA^(key): /tɒm/
• (US) IPA^(key): /tɑm/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒm

From generic use of the proper name Tom.

tom (plural toms)

1. The male of the domesticated cat, especially if not neutered.
2. The male of the turkey.
3. The male of the orangutan.
4. The male of certain other animals.
5. (UK, slang, dated) A female prostitute.
6. (US, slang) A lesbian.
7. (music) Clipping of tom-tom.
8. (obsolete) The jack of trumps in the card game gleek.
9. (UK, regional, obsolete) A close-stool.

• (male cat): tomcat, he-cat
• (male turkey): turkeycock
• (male of other animals): male, buck, stag
• (prostitute): See also Thesaurus:prostitute

(intact male cat):

• gib
• queen

Shortened from tomato

tom (plural toms)

1. (British, greengrocers' slang) A tomato (the fruit).

   Toms 90p a pound

   • 2009, Mark Penny, Jonathan Penny, The Golden Pig, page 160:

     “I'd like sausage, eggs, bacon, toms, mushies, beans – oh, and some fried bread,” said Mike.

Rhyming slang from tomfoolery.

tom (uncountable)

1. (Cockney rhyming slang) jewellery

From Uncle Tom.

tom (third-person singular simple present toms, present participle tomming, simple past and past participle tommed)

1. (intransitive, derogatory, of a black person) To act in an obsequiously servile manner toward white authority.

tom (third-person singular simple present toms, present participle tomming, simple past and past participle tommed)

1. (nautical) To dig out a hole below the hatch cover of a bulker and fill it with cargo or weights to aid stability.

• MOT, Mot, OMT, OTM, TMO, mot

• IPA^(key): [ˈtom]

tom

1. locative masculine/neuter singular of ten

From Old Norse tómr, from Proto-Germanic *tōmaz (“empty”).

• IPA^(key): [ˈtˢʌmˀ]
• Rhymes: -ɒm

tom (neuter tomt, plural and definite singular attributive tomme)

1. empty

• “tom” in Den Danske Ordbog

From English tom.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtom/, [ˈt̪o̞m]
• Rhymes: -om
• Syllabification^(key): tom
• Hyphenation^(key): tom

tom

1. (music) tom, tom-tom (percussion instrument)

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈtom/ [ˈt̪om]
• Rhymes: -om
• Syllabification: tom

Borrowed from Dutch toom (“bridle, rein”), from Middle Dutch toom, from Old Dutch *tōm, from Proto-West Germanic *taum, from Proto-Germanic *taumaz. Doublet of tim.

tom (plural tom-tom)

1. bridle, rein

   Synonym: tali kekang

Ultimately from Old Javanese tom, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taʀum. Doublet of tarum.

tom (plural tom-tom)

1. indigo

   Synonyms: indigo, nila, tarum

• “tom”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /t̪ˠoumˠ/
• (Galway) IPA^(key): /t̪ˠuːmˠ/
• (Mayo) IPA^(key): /t̪ˠʊmˠ/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /t̪ˠɞmˠ/^[1]

From Middle Irish tomm (“bush, tuft; hillock, knoll”), from Proto-Indo-European *tum- (“mound”).

tom m (genitive singular toim, nominative plural toim or tomacha)

1. bush, shrub

   Synonym: tor

2. clump, tuft, tussock

   Synonym: tortóg

• Alternative plural: tomacha (Connacht, Ulster)

• tomach (“bushy; tufted”)

tom m (genitive singular toma, nominative plural tomanna)

1. alternative form of taom (“fit, paroxysm”)

tom (present analytic tomann, future analytic tomfaidh, verbal noun tomadh, past participle tomtha)

1. alternative form of tum (“dip, immerse”)

Javanese writing system
Carakan	ꦠꦺꦴꦩ꧀
Pegon
Roman	tom

From Old Javanese tom, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taʀum.

tom

1. indigo (plant)

• → Ternate: tom

• The Linguistic Center of Yogyakarta (2011), “tom”, in Kamus Basa Jawa (Bausastra Jawa) [Javanese Language Dictionary (Javanese Dictionary)] (in Javanese), 2nd edition, Yogyakarta: Kanisius, →ISBN

tom

1. spear

• IPA^(key): [tɔm]

tom

1. locative masculine/neuter singular of ten

tom

1. human body louse

tom

1. alternative form of tome (“empty”)

tom (uncountable)

1. alternative form of tome (“freetime”)

tom

1. (Southwest, southern West Midland) alternative form of tame (“tame”)

From Old Norse tómr, from Proto-Germanic *tōmaz (“empty”).

tom (neuter singular tomt, definite singular and plural tomme, comparative tommere, indefinite superlative tommest, definite superlative tommeste)

1. empty

• halvtom
• tomflaske
• tomhet

• tømme

• “tom” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Old Norse tómr, from Proto-Germanic *tōmaz (“empty”).

• IPA^(key): /tʊmː/

tom (neuter singular tomt, definite singular and plural tomme, comparative tommare, indefinite superlative tommast, definite superlative tommaste)

1. empty

• halvtom
• tomflaske

• tømme, tømma

From Old Norse taumr.

tom m (definite singular tommen, indefinite plural tommar, definite plural tommane)

1. alternative form of taum; (pre-2012) alternative form of taum

• fortom

• “tom” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• mot, t.o.m.

tom

1. water

• Robyn Loughnane, A Grammar of Oksapmin (April 2009), page 58

From Proto-Germanic *tōmaz (“empty”). Akin to Old Norse tómr (“empty”), whence Icelandic tómur (“empty”).

• IPA^(key): /toːm/

tōm

1. empty
2. (figuratively) free from

   Ðæt hīe mōstun mānweorca tōme lifgan and tīres blǣd ēcne āgan.

   That they might live free from wicked works and own the eternal reward of glory.

• Middle English: tome, tom, toume, tombe, toyme, tum, tume (Northern)
  • English: toom
  • Scots: tume, tuim

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taʀum.

tom

1. indigo (plant)

• Javanese: tom
  • → Ternate: tom

• "tom" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

From Middle Low German tam, from Proto-West Germanic *tam.

tom (comparative toma, superlativel tomsta)

1. tame, domesticated

   Synonym: mak

   Antonym: wilt

• tomen

Learned borrowing from Latin tomus, from Ancient Greek τόμος (tómos).

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɔm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔm
• Syllabification: tom

tom m inan (diminutive tomik, augmentative tomisko or tomiszcze)

1. volume (single book of a publication issued in multi-book format)

   Synonyms: wolumen, wolumin

• tom in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• tom in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Probably a semi-learned borrowing from Latin tonus (and influenced by som; compare the Spanish ton, variant of the standard tono, which underwent a similar change, influenced by son, respectively), from Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos, “tone”), from τείνω (teínō, “to stretch”). Cf. also trom, a possible doublet.

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -õ
• Homophone: tão (Portugal, dialectal)
• Hyphenation: tom

tom m (plural tons)

1. tone; pitch (property of sound determined by the frequency)
2. tone (shade or quality of a colour)
3. tone (manner in which speech or writing is expressed)
4. (music) tone (interval of a major second)
5. (music) key

• trom

• “tom”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “tom”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Borrowed from French tome, from Latin tomus.

tom n (plural tomuri)

1. volume

From Old Irish tom (“bush, tuft; hillock, knoll”).

• IPA^(key): /t̪ʰɔum/

tom m (genitive singular tuim, plural toman or tomannan)

1. round hillock or knoll, rising ground, swell, green eminence
2. any round heap
3. tuft of anything
4. bush, thicket
5. anthill
6. (Islay) stool
7. volume of a book
8. bank
9. grave
10. (medicine, rare) the plague
11. conical knoll

• IPA^(key): /tóːm/

tọ̑m m inan

1. tome

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	tóm
gen. sing.	tóma
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	tóm	tóma	tómi
genitive (rodȋlnik)	tóma	tómov	tómov
dative (dajȃlnik)	tómu	tómoma	tómom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	tóm	tóma	tóme
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	tómu	tómih	tómih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	tómom	tómoma	tómi

• zvézek

• “tom”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2026

From Old Norse tómr, from Proto-Germanic *tōmaz (“empty”).

• (Sweden) IPA^(key): /tuːm/

• Audio:

  (file)

tom (comparative tommare, superlative tommast)

1. empty

   tomma tunnor skramlar mest

   empty barrels make the most noise (those who complain most vigorously, are the least important)

• full

Used in Swedish since 1697. From French tome, Latin tomus (“section of larger work”), from Ancient Greek τόμος (tómos, “section, roll of papyrus, volume”), from τέμνω (témnō, “to cut, separate”). Cognate with English tome.

• (Sweden) IPA^(key): /toːm/

tom c

1. A tome, a volume (in a series of books), a (thick) book.

• tomtals

• “tom”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “tom”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

• mot

From Javanese ꦠꦺꦴꦩ꧀ (tom), from Old Javanese tom, from Proto-Malayic *tarum.

• IPA^(key): /tom/

tom (Jawi توم)

1. indigo (Indigofera tinctoria)

• Frederik Sigismund Alexander de Clercq (1890), Bijdragen tot de kennis der Residentie Ternate, E.J. Brill
• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001), A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Probably from Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂- (“to swell”). Compare Middle Irish tomm (“clump, hill”).

• IPA^(key): /tɔm/
• Rhymes: -ɔm

tom m or f (plural tomau)

1. dung, excrement, faeces

   Synonym: cach

2. manure, compost
3. filth, muck, mire

• tomen (“dunghill”)
• tomi (“to spread dung”)
• tomlyd (“dungy, befouled, filthy”)

• D. G. Lewis, N. Lewis, editors (2005–present), “tom”, in Gweiadur: the Welsh–English Dictionary, Gwerin
• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “tom”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

• IPA^(key): /tɒ˩̰/

From Proto-Hmong-Mien *dəp (“to bite”); compare Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ketep (“id”), whence Indonesian ketip (“dime, dite”).^[1]

tom

1. to bite

tom

1. at, there (nearby)

• Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979), White Hmong — English Dictionary‎^[1], SEAP Publications, →ISBN, pages 322-3.

tom

1. Second person singular possessive (medial position)

   your

2. Second person singular object

   you

• to'
• tomma