Origin and history of *tem-

late 14c., "study or knowledge of the structure and function of the human body" (learned by dissection); c. 1400, "anatomical structure," from Old French anatomie and directly from Late Latin anatomia, from late Greek anatomia for classical anatomē "dissection," literally "a cutting up," from ana "up" (see ana-) + temnein "to cut" (from PIE root *tem- "to cut").

"Dissection" (1540s), "mummy" (1580s), and "skeleton" (1590s) were primary senses of this word in Shakespeare's day; the meaning "the science of the structure of organized bodies" predominated from 17c. Of persons, "the body," from 1590s. Often misdivided as an atomy or a natomy (see N).

The scyence of the Nathomy is nedefull and necessarye to the Cyrurgyen [1541]

late 15c., as a hypothetical indivisible extremely minute body, the building block of the universe, from Latin atomus (especially in Lucretius) "indivisible particle," from Greek atomos "uncut, unhewn; indivisible," from a- "not" (see a- (3)) + tomos "a cutting," from temnein "to cut" (from PIE root *tem- "to cut").

An ancient term of philosophical speculation (in Leucippus, Democritus); revived scientifically 1805 by British chemist John Dalton. In late classical and medieval use also the smallest unit of time, 22,560 to the hour. Atom bomb is from 1945 as both a noun and a verb; compare atomic.