a compendium of theology, philosophy, or canon law, or sometimes of all three together. The Summa Theologica of St Thomas Aquinas, written between 1265 and 1274, was the most famous of all such compendia
2. rare
a comprehensive work or survey
Word origin
C15: from Latin: sum1
summa in American English
(ˈsʊmə)
nounWord forms: pluralˈsummae (ˈsʊmi)
a comprehensive treatise or exposition, as by a medieval scholastic