atomy

/ˈætəmi//ˈætəmi/

atomy noun: a tiny particle; an atom, a mote, a speck.

Image: E.mil.mil, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

atomy (plural atomy or atomies)

A tiny particle; an atom, a mote, a speck.
- Thou tellſt me there is murder in mine eye, / 'Tis pretty ſure, and very probable, / That eyes, that are the frailſt and ſofteſt things, / VVho ſhut their covvard gates on atomyes, / Should be called tyrants, butchers, murtherers.c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- […] Hunger. It was prevalent everywhere. […] Hunger was shred into atomies in every farthing porringer of husky chips of potato, fried with some reluctant drops of oil.1859, Charles Dickens, “The Wine-shop”, in A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book I (Recalled to Life), page 19
Synonyms:

ace, atom, thought, aught, bissel, continental, bit, crumb, glimpse, dab
1. A floating mote or speck of dust.
  - [T]hicker then in ſunne are Atomies, / Flew bullets, fier, and ſlaughtered dead mens cries.1595, Iruis [i.e., Gervase] Markham, The Most Honorable Tragedie of Sir Richard Grinuile, Knight, London: […] I. Roberts, for Richard Smith, →OCLC; republished in Edward Arber, editor, The Last Fight...
  - Atomie. A mote flying in the ſunne.[1616, I. B. [i.e., John Bullokar], “Atomie”, in An English Expositor: Teaching the Interpretation of the Hardest Words Vsed in Our Language. […], London: […] John Legatt [John Legate?], →OCLC...
2. (archaic) The smallest, indivisible constituent part or unit of something; an atom.
  - Spayne then enamour'd with the Romane trull, / Calls all her forces, more then Atomies, / And tells Ill-fortunes ſtorie to the full; […]1595, Iruis [i.e., Gervase] Markham, The Most Honorable Tragedie of Sir Richard Grinuile, Knight, London: […] I. Roberts, for Richard Smith, →OCLC; republished in Edward Arber, editor, The Last Fight...
  - It is as eaſie to count Atomies as to reſolue the propoſitions of a Louer: […]c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
(dialectal, figuratively, archaic except UK) A very small being; a mite.
- O then I ſee Queene Mab hath bin vvith you: She is the Fairies mid-vvife, and ſhe comes in ſhape no bigger thẽ [then; i.e., than] an Agot ſtone, on the forefinger of an Alderman, dravvne vvith a teeme of little ottamie, ouer mens noſes as they lie aſleep: […]c. 1591–1595 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] Romeo and Iuliet. […] (Second Quarto), London: […] Thomas Creede, for Cuthbert Burby, […], published 1599, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv], signature...
- Was there a "delicate atomy" of minute dimensions and pale complexion, he forthwith strutted a hardy Highlander.1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter IX, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 71
Synonyms:

titch

Adjective

atomy (comparative more atomy, superlative most atomy)

Made up of tiny particles.
- Things that flit in the sky or creep / In the atomy dust, or swarm in the deep, […]1918, George Rostrevor [Hamilton], “Thoughts”, in Escape and Fantasy: Poems, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 19
Synonyms:

atomic
Resembling a tiny particle; atomlike.
- Hour after hour we slopped along, by the roaring torrent, and under noble Lesser Alps which were clothed in rich velvety green all the way up and had little atomy Swiss homes perched upon grassy benches along their mist-dimmed heights.1880, Mark Twain [pseudonym] (Samuel L[anghorne] Clemens), chapter XXXV, in A Tramp Abroad; […], Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company; London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 398
- Imagination can not paint a history with as many unturned leaves, with the print of the Creator fresh in fadeless colors, as that of the atomy speck, hurled through space, which we mortals call the world!— […]1894 May 4, Richard Henry Savage, chapter VIII, in The Princess of Alaska: A Tale of Two Countries. […], Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Rand, McNally & Company, published [1897], →OCLC, book II...
Synonyms:

atomic

Noun (2)

atomy (plural atomies)

(archaic) A skeleton.
- Poor Brother Tom had an Accident this time Tvvelve-month, and ſo clever a made Fellovv he vvas, that I could not ſave him from thoſe fleaing Raſcals the Surgeons; and novv, poor Man, he is among the Otamys at Surgeon's Hall.1728, [John] Gay, The Beggar’s Opera. […], London: […] John Watts, […], →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 19
- From this cavern (vvhen heaven ſhall be pleaſed to diſcover them) my bones, together vvith thoſe of my honeſt friend Dapple, vvill be taken up ſmooth, and vvhite, and bare as an atomy; […]1755, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, “Of Certain Accidents that Befel Sancho [Panza] upon the Road; and Other Circumstances, which to Know You Need only Look Forward”, in T[obias] Smollett, transl....
Synonyms:

notomy
(UK, dialectal, figuratively) A person who is very emaciated or thin; a skeleton.
- Hoſt[ess, i.e., Mistress Quickly]. I [aye] come, you ſtarude blood-hound. / VVhoore [Doll Tearsheet]. Goodman death, goodman bones. / Hoſt. Thou Atomy, thou. / VVhoore. Come you thinne thing, come you raſcall.c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600...
- VVhy, my Lord, ſhe vvas handſome in her Timne; but ſhe cannot eat her Cake, and have her Cake: I hear ſhe's grovvn a mere Otomy.1731 (date written), Simon Wagstaff [pseudonym; Jonathan Swift], “Dialogue I”, in A Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation, […], London: […] B[enjamin] Motte […], published 1738...
Synonyms:

bag of bones, notomy, skin and bones, thin person
(figuratively, obsolete) Chiefly in the works of the English author Charles Dickens (1812–1870): a thing which is very slender and weak.
- [T]he contents of his plate chest, consisting of two withered atomies of teaspoons, and an obsolete pair of knock-knee'd sugar tongs; […]1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, “In which the Wooden Midshipman Gets into Trouble”, in Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 86
- They mounted up and up, through the musty smell of an old close house, little used, to a large garret bed-room. Meagre and spare, like all the other rooms, it was even uglier and grimmer than the rest, by being the place of banishment for the worn out furniture. Its moveables were […] a bedstead...1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, “Home”, in Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC, 1st book (Poverty), page 28

atomy meaning in Tamil and Bengali

Examples of atomy in a sentence

The marvel is that man can smile dreaming his ghostly ghastly dream;— / Better the heedless atomy that buzzes in the morning beam!1880, Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî [pseudonym; Richard Francis Burton], translated by F[rank] B[aker] [pseudonym], The Kasîdah (Couplets) […]: A Lay...
Thinke not that all betvvixt the VVherpoole, and the Sprat, / I goe about to name, that vvere to take in hand, / The Atomy to tell, or to caſt vp the ſand; […]1622, Michael Drayton, “The Fiue and Twentieth Song”, in The Second Part, or A Continuance of Poly-Olbion from the Eighteenth Song. […]...
I suppose you have come here to laugh at me, you spiteful little atomy?"1862 August – 1863 March, Charles Kingsley, chapter VIII, in The Water-Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby, London; Cambridge...
The veriest atomy he looked, / With grimy fingers clutching and crooked, / Tight skin, a nose all bony and hooked, / And a shaking, sharp, suspicious way; […]1866, Christina Rossetti, “The Prince’s Progress”, in The Prince’s Progress and Other Poems, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 11:

Synonyms of atomy

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All synonyms of atomy

Forms of atomy

Noun
plural	atomy
plural	atomies
Adjective
comparative	more atomy
superlative	most atomy

Origin of atomy

A variant of atomi, the plural of atomus (“hypothetical particle posited as an ultimate and indivisible component of matter; mote of dust in a sunbeam”) treated as a singular form. Atomus is derived from Latin atomus, from Ancient Greek ἄτομος (átomos, “indivisible”, adjective), from ᾰ̓- (ă-, prefix forming terms having an opposite sense) + τομ- (tom-) (stem of τέμνω (témnō, “to cut”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- (“to cut”)) + -ος (-os, suffix forming nouns of action or result). Doublet of atom.

From atom + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’).

Rebracketing of anatomy (“skeleton”) as an atomy; compare notomy.

Questions about atomy

What does atomy mean?: Atomy means a tiny particle; an atom, a mote, a speck.
What is atomy in Tamil?: Atomy in Tamil is எலும்புக்கூடு, தேய்ந்த உடல். See Atomy meaning in Tamil.
How do you use atomy in a sentence?: The marvel is that man can smile dreaming his ghostly ghastly dream;— / Better the heedless atomy that buzzes in the morning beam!
What part of speech is atomy?: Atomy can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce atomy?: Atomy is pronounced /ˈætəmi/ (UK).
What is the plural of atomy?: The plural of atomy is atomy.

Words near atomy in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: atomy (page history and authors); atomy (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); atomy (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-atomy.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-atomy.wav.

Cite this entry: “atomy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/atomy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.