The Greek word "atomos" is made up of two parts:
* a-: meaning "not" or "without"
* tomos: meaning "cut" or "divided"
Therefore, "atomos" literally means "indivisible" or "uncuttable".
The ancient Greek philosophers used this term to describe the smallest possible particle of matter that could not be further divided. Of course, we now know that atoms are not truly indivisible, as they are made up of even smaller particles like protons, neutrons, and electrons.