adage

[ ad-ij ]

/ ˈæd ɪdʒ /

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noun

a traditional saying expressing a common experience or observation; proverb.

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Origin of adage

1540–50; <French <Latin adagium, equivalent to ad-ad- + ag- (stem of āio I say) + -ium-ium

OTHER WORDS FROM adage

a·da·gi·al

[uh-dey-jee-uhl], /əˈdeɪ dʒi əl/, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH adage

adage , aphorism, apothegm, axiom, maxim, proverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use adage in a sentence

As with many historical adages, there is truth to The Narrative.
Why I Refuse to Serve in the IDF|Moriel Rothman|October 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
As with many historical adages, however, much is left out of The Narrative.
Why I Refuse to Serve in the IDF|Moriel Rothman|October 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And yet, Smith discovered that one of the oldest Hollywood adages is true: What matters most is the story.
‘Arthur Christmas’: The Making of the New Aardman Film|Lorenza Muñoz|November 23, 2011|DAILY BEAST
There are a great many old adages in our family, and they have often got my ancestors out of trouble.
The Hollow Tree Snowed-In|Albert Bigelow Paine

But I have learned that the adages, as well as the books and the formulas were made by and for others than us of the black race.
The Strength of Gideon and Other Stories|Paul Laurence Dunbar
Adages respecting the robin and the wren, generally including the martin and swallow, are common in all parts of the country.
Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales|David Goodger (goodger@python.org)
The volume of 1500 had been jejune, written when he knew nothing of Greek; 800 adages put together with scanty elucidations.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 7|Various
To these two lines of patronage the Adages owed their great and immediate popularity.
Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam|Ephraim Emerton

British Dictionary definitions for adage

adage

/ (ˈædɪdʒ) /

noun

a traditional saying that is accepted by many as true or partially true; proverb

Word Origin for adage

C16: via Old French from Latin adagium; related to āio I say

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adage

Origin of adage

OTHER WORDS FROM adage

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH adage

Words related to adage

How to use adage in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for adage

Word Origin for adage