Etymograph

English

tom

Tom comes from the name Tom, from Middle English Thomme, a pet form of Thomas, and ultimately from Aramaic תאמא ‘twin’.

  1. Aramaicc. 1000 BCE–700 CEתאמא1‘twin’
  2. Aramaicc. 1000 BCE–700 CEתאומא1‘Thomas’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΘωμᾶς1Thōmâs‘Thomas’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEThōmās1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Thomas1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Thomme1
  7. English1500–presentTom1
  8. Englishtodaytom1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English tom

Lineage

  1. Aramaicc. 1000 BCE–700 CEתאמאWiktionary, English tom‘twin’
  2. Aramaicc. 1000 BCE–700 CEתאומאWiktionary, English tom‘Thomas’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΘωμᾶςWiktionary, English tomThōmâs‘Thomas’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEThōmāsWiktionary, English tom
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ThomasWiktionary, English tom
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ThommeWiktionary, English tom
  7. English1500–presentTomWiktionary, English tom
  8. EnglishtodaytomWiktionary, English tom

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with tom, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Middle English Thomme

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Today it means

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

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tom”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Aramaic תאמא / tom