# Epitome

An Epitome (; Greek: ἐπιτομή, from ἐπιτέμνειν epitemnein meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "to the degree of." An abridgment differs from an Epitome in that an abridgment is made of selected quotations of a larger work; no new writing is composed, as opposed to the Epitome, which is an original summation of a work, at least in part. Many documents from the Ancient Greek and Roman worlds survive now only "in Epitome," referring to the practice of some later authors (epitomators) who wrote distilled versions of larger works now lost.