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.
A great statesman is responsible for an apophthegm on that aspect of the topic which always deserves to be quoted in the same breath as Dr Johnson's familiar half-truth.
From Shakespeare and the Modern Stage with Other Essays by Sir Sidney Lee
I should prefer to reverse the apophthegm, and to say that in life I see the promise and potency of all forms of matter.
From Mysterious Psychic Forces An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical Research, Together with Those of Other European Savants by Camille Flammarion
To Archimedes is attributed the apophthegm: "Give me a lever long enough, and a prop strong enough, and with my own weight I will move the world."
From Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 3 A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History by Charles F. (Charles Francis) Horne
They made apophthegm take the place of message.
From Legends & Romances of Spain by Lewis Spence
The middle row, the first to be inscribed, deals with the Epicurean theory of atoms—not by apophthegm or aphorism, but with something of the fulness and technicality of a treatise.
From The Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire by T. R. (Terrot Reaveley) Glover
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