- a variation of apothegm.
apophthegm
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of apophthegm
C16: from Greek apophthegma, from apophthengesthai to speak one's opinion frankly, from phthengesthai to speak
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Apophthegmat′ic, -al, pertaining to the nature of an apophthegm, pithy, sententious.—adv.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
They made apophthegm take the place of message.
From Legends & Romances of Spain by Lewis Spence
Faint heart never won fair lady, he said to himself, in some answering apophthegm.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 84, October, 1864 by Various
The major part of the volume consists of 190 numbered sentences—each a French rendering of an apophthegm or reflection drawn from Shakespeare's plays.
From Shakespeare and the Modern Stage with Other Essays by Sir Sidney Lee
Culture, criticism, in certain sterile natures, are like Sheridan's famous apophthegm: they lie "like lumps of marl on a barren moor, encumbering what it is not in their power to fertilise."
From Essays by Arthur Christopher Benson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
