tem- The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

Appendix I

Indo-European Roots

ENTRY:	tem-
DEFINITION:	To cut. Also tem- (oldest form tem₂-). I. Form tem-. Nasalized form t(e)m-n--. tmesis, tome, –tome, –tomy; anatomy, atom, diatom, dichotomy, entomo-, epitome, from Greek temnein,* to cut, with o-grade forms tomos, cutting, a cut, section, volume, and tom, a cutting. II. Form tem-. 1. Suffixed form tem-lo-. temple¹, temple³; contemplate, from Latin templum, temple, shrine, open place for observation (augury term < “place reserved or cut out”), small piece of timber. 2. Extended root tem-d- becoming tend- in o-grade suffixed (iterative) form tond-eyo-. tonsorial, tonsure, from Latin tondre,* to shear, shave. (Pokorny 1. tem- 1062.)


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.