epitome

Noun

epitome (plural epitomes or epitomai)

1. The embodiment or encapsulation of a class of items.
   • This is a poore Epitome of yours, / Which by th'interpretation of full time, / May ſhew like all your ſelfe.c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
   • But first I took up Ayesha's kirtle and the gauzy scarf with which she had been wont to hide her dazzling loveliness from the eyes of men, and, averting my head so that I might not look upon it, covered up that dreadful relic of the glorious dead, that shocking epitome of human beauty and human...1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   exemplar, model, type, archetype, byspel, case, beau ideal, case in point, embodiment, eponym

2. A representative example.
   • The minute they see me, fear me / I'm the epitome of "public enemy"1988, “Don't Believe the Hype”, in It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, performed by Public Enemy
   • Every single relationship in his life is transactional. That is incredibly pathetic and sad. That is the epitome of a loser.2026 July 5, @clearlyfoggy.bsky.social, Bluesky (post), archived from the original on 05 Jul 2026

   Synonyms:

   quintessential, poster child, archetype, byspel, case, beau ideal, case in point, embodiment, eponym, exemplar

3. The height; the best; the most vivid.
   • He looks the very epitome of fright: I do not think he could eat one of those apples, if it were given him.1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVI, in Romance and Reality. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 240

   Synonyms:

   acme, greatest

4. A brief summary of a text.
   • Having now so amply declared unto thee most of the principal things of this thrice-renowned and illustrious city, I will briefly by way of an epitome mention most of the other particulars thereof, and so finally shut up this narration: there are reported to be in Venice and the circumjacent islands...1611, Thomas Coryate, Coryat's Crudities hastily gobbled up in Five Months Travels in France, Italy, &c

   Synonyms:

   abstract, synopsis