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Tom
Tom male personal forename.
Tom and Jerry names of the two chief characters in Egan's Life in London, 1821, and its continuation, 1828; whence in various allusive and attributive uses, especially as name of a compound alcoholic drink, a kind of highly-spiced punch. Tom and Jerry are also the names of the cat and mouse cartoon characters (created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera) who first appeared in Puss Gets the Boot (1939); in their constant and violent battles, the large black-and-white cat is in the end outwitted by the adroit mouse. Tom, Dick, and Harry collectively referring to ordinary people in general; the phrase in this form is recorded from the mid 18th century, but Shakespeare in 1 Henry IV (1597) has ‘Tom, Dick, and Francis’ in a similar sense. Tom o'Bedlam a madman, a deranged person discharged from Bedlam and licensed to beg; in Shakespeare's King Lear (1605–6), the banished Edgar disguises himself as the mad ‘Poor Tom’. Tom Thumb the hero of an old children's story, the son of a ploughman in the time of King Arthur who was only as tall as his father's thumb; the story of his life was popular as a chapbook publication, and was the subject of Fielding's mock-heroic Tom Thumb, a Tragedy (1730). Tom Tiddler's ground the name of a children's game. One of the players is Tom Tiddler, his territory being marked by a line drawn on the ground; over this the other players run, crying ‘We're on Tom Tiddler's ground, picking up gold and silver’. They are chased by Tom Tiddler, the first, or sometimes the last, caught taking his place. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Tom." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Tom." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Tom.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Tom." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Tom.html |
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Tom
Tom familiar abbrev. of the pers. name Thomas, used (i) as the name of certain large bells (XVII), and long guns (XIX, Long Tom); (ii) in designations originating in quasi-proper names as tom-fool †half-witted man (XVI), buffoon (XVII), stupid person (XVIII);
hence tomfoolery (XIX); tom-noddy puffin (XVIII), foolish person (XIX); (iii) as the colloq. designation of a male cat, originating in ‘The Life and Adventures of a Cat’ (1760) in which the hero, a male cat, is called Tom the Cat. Hence dim. Tommy (-Y6) spec. short for Tommy Atkins familiar form of Thomas Atkins, name of a typical private soldier in the British army arising out of its use in specimen forms of description in official regulations from 1815. Also tomboy †bold boy or woman; wild romping girl XVI; tomtit TITMOUSE (XVIII). |
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T. F. HOAD. "Tom." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "Tom." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-Tom.html T. F. HOAD. "Tom." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-Tom.html |
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tom
tom / täm/ • n. 1. the male of various animals, esp. a turkey or domestic cat. 2. (Tom) inf. short for Uncle Tom. • v. (Tom) (Tommed, Tom·ming) [intr.] inf. , derog. (of a black person) behave in an excessively obedient or servile way. |
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"tom." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "tom." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-tom.html "tom." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-tom.html |
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Tom
Tom , river, c.525 mi (840 km) long, rising in the Alatau range, S Siberian Russia. It flows N through the Kuznetsk Basin past Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo, and Tomsk into the Ob River. It is navigable from Novokuznetsk. |
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"Tom." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Tom." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Tom.html "Tom." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Tom.html |
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Tom
Tom ♂ Short form of Thomas, in use since the Middle Ages. It is recorded as an independent name since the 18th century, and as such was very popular in the late 1990s.
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Tom." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Tom." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Tom.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Tom." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Tom.html |
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tom
tom
•aplomb, bomb, bombe, CD-ROM, dom, from, glom, mom, pom, prom, Rom, shalom, Somme, therefrom, Thom, tom, wherefrom
•stink bomb • firebomb • sitcom
•Telecom • non-com • intercom
•coulomb • pompom • tomtom
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"tom." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "tom." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-tom.html "tom." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-tom.html |
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