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tom

noun
/tɒm/UK/tɑm/US

Etymology

Possibly onomatopoeia, conflated with the given name, given the practice of giving objects such as Big Ben human names. Alternatively, it may derive from an inscription on the old bell used as metal to make the Great Tom of Oxford in 1680: In Thomæ laude resono bim bom sine fraude.

  1. inherited from Thomme

Definitions

  1. The male of the domesticated cat, especially if not neutered.

  2. The male of the turkey.

  3. The male of the orangutan.

  4. ›+ 19 more definitions

    1. The male of certain other animals.

    2. A female prostitute.

    3. A lesbian.

    4. Clipping of tom-tom.

    5. The jack of trumps in the card game gleek.

    6. A close-stool.

    7. A tomato (the fruit).

      • Toms 90p a pound
      • “I'd like sausage, eggs, bacon, toms, mushies, beans – oh, and some fried bread,” said Mike.

    8. jewellery

    9. To act in an obsequiously servile manner toward white authority.

    10. To dig out a hole below the hatch cover of a bulker and fill it with cargo or weights to…

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

    11. A diminutive of the male given name Thomas, also used as a formal male given name.

      • Poor Tom's a-cold.
      • "Good,—that's a whack. What's your name?" "Becky Thatcher. What's yours? Oh, I know. It's Thomas Sawyer." "That's the name they lick me by. I'm Tom when I'm good. You call me Tom, will you?"

    12. A nickname for a common man.

    13. Ellipsis of Uncle Tom.

    14. A United States two-dollar bill.

      • Toms: two-dollar bills bearing the portrait of President Thomas Jefferson
      • In the past year I've spent over 2000 Toms with 90% used to well used. I have only seen a dozen or so with torn corners, almost always the upper left corner.

    15. Synonym of menstruation.

      • Sorry, maybe next week. Uncle Tom is visiting.
      • Maybe later. Tom is in town.

    16. A large, deep-toned bell, or a particularly notable example of one.

      • They had a thick rim, and when struck with pieces of wood, gave out a tone deeper than that of some of the Great Toms renowned in belldom.
      • After these came innumerable little boys bearing little bells, which made little noises in comparison to the "Big Tom" that preceded them.
      • And there little Johnny Bell hung dangling along with the great Tom bell, and all the rest of the bells.

    17. Acronym of time of the month.

    18. Acronym of Translocon on Outer Membrane.

    19. Initialism of theory of mind.

      • Thus there are stages of gaze following, followed by primary ToM, then secondary ToM, then perspective taking, with the speed of transitions influenced by experience[…]

The neighborhood

Derived

tomboy, tomcat, tomfool, tom-kitten, tomling, tomtit, tom-tit

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for tom. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA