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• sage
  sage

  noun

  a profoundly wise person; a person famed for wisdom.
• Sage
  Sage

  noun

  Russell, 1816–1906, U.S. financier.

sage

¹ American  

[seyj] / seɪdʒ /

noun

1. a profoundly wise person; a person famed for wisdom.

   Synonyms:

   philosopher

   Antonyms:

   fool

2. someone venerated for the possession of wisdom, judgment, and experience.

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adjective

sager, sagest

1. wise, judicious, or prudent.

   sage advice.

   Synonyms:

   sagacious

sage ² American  

[seyj] / seɪdʒ /

noun

1. any plant or shrub belonging to the genus Salvia, of the mint family.

2. an herb, Salvia officinalis, whose grayish-green leaves are used medicinally and in cooking.

3. the leaves of the medicinal and culinary herb Salvia officinalis.

4. sagebrush.

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Sage ³ American  

[seyj] / seɪdʒ /

noun

1. Russell, 1816–1906, U.S. financier.

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sage ¹ British  

/ seɪdʒ /

noun

1. a man revered for his profound wisdom

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adjective

1. profoundly wise or prudent

2. obsolete solemn

sage ² British  

/ seɪdʒ /

noun

1. a perennial Mediterranean plant, Salvia officinalis, having grey-green leaves and purple, blue, or white flowers: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

2. the leaves of this plant, used in cooking for flavouring

3. short for sagebrush

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Other Word Forms

• sageness
  noun
• sagely
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of sage¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin sapius (unattested), from Latin sap(ere) “to taste, have taste, smell, smell of; to have sense, discern, know, be wise” + -idus; see origin at sapient, -id ⁴

Origin of sage²

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English sa ( u ) ge, from Middle French sau ( l ) ge, from Latin salvia, derivative of salvus safe (so named from its supposed healing powers)

Explanation

Use the word sage for someone or something wise and judicious. Thanks to the sage advice of your friend, you didn't write your teacher an angry e-mail! Although you might think of a wizard when you hear the word sage, really it means a wise man. Today you see it used to refer to someone who has insight in a particular field. If someone is a policy sage, he knows just what advice to give politicians to make them understand the issue and respond successfully to it. In a totally unrelated use, there is also a plant called sage that is useful in home remedies and cooking.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sage Sage sager sagest

The colorful aesthetic follows into the kitchen, which is adorned with sage green cabinetry, a wooden island, and state-of-the-art appliances.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

“It’s a sage on the stage in a lecture hall.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

Upon entering the home, guests are greeted with an expansive living area that features wooden beams on the ceiling, French doors that open up to the balcony, a cozy fireplace, and a sage green bar.

From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026

Heyward co-hosted a fundraiser with his wife last week where Pratt was smudged with sage before standing in front of a giant amethyst geode to address about 125 people.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

Her mother would clean off the headstones with an old cloth and burn sage in a shallow pewter dish.

From "Ash" by Malinda Lo

A stronger print could reinforce a tighter policy and add further pressure to gold, says Tony Sage, CEO of Critical Metals, in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The precious metal continues to be pressured by a hawkish monetary policy backdrop ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision, says Critical Metals’ Tony Sage in commentary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

With speculative dollar longs already looking stretched, even a small shift in rate-hike expectations could spur a substantial reversal, according to Thomas Urano, co-chief investment officer at Sage Advisory.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

New boss Pierre Sage will surely be keeping an eye on the World Cup, but he is fresh to the role and therefore Palace's signing plans are unclear for now.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

Sometimes Sage could seem mean, but I figured he had to be nice to me if he knew it was almost my birthday.

From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

Fox News’ Jessica sager contributed to this report.

From Fox News ● Aug. 28, 2019

Stonyhurst's sager Jesuits were more up to date in their psychology.

From Time Magazine Archive

Most Britons, as Lord Byron once put it, "till by losing rendered sager, will back their own opinions by a wager."

From Time Magazine Archive

The same day, his wife decided she should leave him for a slimmer, sager man.

From Time Magazine Archive

No sager counsel from so young in years e’er yet have I heard.

From Beowulf by Francis Barton Gummere

But joining the Little Red Book author in a shrine to the all-time sagest minds in golf would be his English counterpart, John Jacobs.

From Golf Digest ● Oct. 16, 2013

The sagest maneuver of the season may have been the removal of the cots from the coaches' offices in Cincinnati.

From Time Magazine Archive

"By 1997 some filmmakers will have been absorbed into Hollywood," says Norman Wang, a New York-based film publicist and one of the Hong Kong industry's sagest insiders.

From Time Magazine Archive

Petrolle is one of the ring's sagest fighters.

From Time Magazine Archive

“The impressions he made upon me suggested he was not of the sagest, nor of the most excellent of men.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson