%epitome%

n.; pl. Epitomes [ L., fr. Gr. &unr_; a surface incision, also, and abridgment, fr. &unr_; to cut into, cut short; 'epi` upon + te`mnein to cut: cf. F. épitome. See Tome. ] 1. A work in which the contents of a former work are reduced within a smaller space by curtailment and condensation; a brief summary; an abridgement. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ An ] epitome of the contents of a very large book. Sydney Smith. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A compact or condensed representation of anything; something possessing conspicuously or to a high degree the qualities of a class. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

An epitome of English fashionable life. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

A man so various that he seemed to be
Not one, but all mankind's epitome. Dryden.

Syn. -- Abridgement; compendium; compend; abstract; synopsis; abbreviature. See Abridgment. [ 1913 Webster ]