sage

¹

[ seyj ]

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.

adjective

, sag·er, sag·est.

1. wise, judicious, or prudent:

   sage advice.

   Synonyms: sagacious

sage

²

[ seyj ]

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.

Sage

³

[ seyj ]

noun

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

sage

¹

/ seɪdʒ /

noun

1. a man revered for his profound wisdom

adjective

1. profoundly wise or prudent
2. obsolete.
   solemn

sage

²

/ 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. See sagebrush
   short for sagebrush

Derived Forms

• ˈsagely, adverb
• ˈsageness, noun

Other Words From

• sage·ly adverb adjective
• sage·ness noun

Word History and Origins

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; 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)

Word History and Origins

Origin of sage¹

C13: from Old French, from Latin sapere to be sensible; see sapient

Origin of sage²

C14: from Old French saulge, from Latin salvia, from salvus safe, in good health (from the curative properties attributed to the plant)

Example Sentences

In his book Kook, Peter Heller is told by one sage surfer that it’s not something you pick up in a year but a “life path.”

From Outside Online

My herbalist gave me some ideas on what nourishes qi, so I decided to use her sage advice in a recipe for AI porridge.

From MIT Technology Review

Dozens of other policy fights have sprung up, such as House Democratic moves to protect the sage grouse bird and and provide money for police anti-racism training.

From Fortune

There’s Brian Shaw, the cerebral point guard and locker room sage.

From FiveThirtyEight

So we’re going to take the sage advice of children’s television legend Fred Rogers.

From Ozy

Tend to your own garden, to quote the great sage of free speech, Voltaire, and invite people to follow your example.

From The Daily Beast

It was one of the first organizations in the building, along with the Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE).

From The Daily Beast

Sage and sausage patty came next, served between cumin scented Buttermilk biscuits and smothered in a black pepper country gravy.

From The Daily Beast

Finally, Deborah Racicot of Narcissa prepares mouth-watering (and non-basic) pumpkin crepes with warm sage cinnamon en glaze.

From The Daily Beast

In fact, she also launched a humorous series “Ask Lena” on YouTube where she gives sage advice on feminism in episode one.

From The Daily Beast

Bien valut Monsieur de Biancourt d'etre plus sage que plusieurs de son esquipage, qui ne crioyent lors que de tout tuer.

From Project Gutenberg

Near noon I found a place where they'd cached two extra horses in the brush on Sage Creek.

From Project Gutenberg

Having evolved this sage remark, Elmer twisted back to his old position and raised the paper.

From Project Gutenberg

Only by Smith's instinctive sense of direction did we make any headway toward the mouth of Sage Creek.

From Project Gutenberg

With that opposing force behind us, we bore away across the shrouded benches, straight for the mouth of Sage Creek.

From Project Gutenberg