sage

[seyj]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sage ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a profoundly wise person; a person famed for wisdom.

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

adjective, sag·er, sag·est.

wise, judicious, or prudent: sage advice.

Origin of sage

1250–1300; Middle English (noun and adj.) < Old French < Late Latin sapidus wise, tasteful (Latin: tasty), equivalent to sap(ere) to know, be wise, orig. to taste (see sapient) + -idus -id⁴

Related formssage·ly, adverbsage·ness, noun

Synonyms for sage

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sage ON THESAURUS.COM

1. philosopher. 3. sagacious.

Antonyms for sage

1. fool.

sage

[seyj]

noun

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

an herb, Salvia officinalis, whose grayish-green leaves are used in medicine and for seasoning in cookery.

the leaves themselves.

sagebrush.

Origin of sage

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

Sage

[seyj]

noun

Russell,1816–1906, U.S. financier.

Le Sage

or Le·sage

[luh sazh]

noun

A·lain Re·né

[a-lan ruh-ney] /aˈlɛ̃ rəˈneɪ/, 1668–1747, French novelist and dramatist.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for sage

knowing, sound, understanding, contemplative, sharp, enlightened, smart, cunning, intellectual, teacher, pundit, guru, philosopher, savant, master, mentor, guide, intellect, thinker, mahatma

Examples from the Web for sage

Contemporary Examples of sage

It was one of the first organizations in the building, along with the Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE).
The LGBT Center That Changed Our Lives
Justin Jones
December 22, 2014
Sage and sausage patty came next, served between cumin scented Buttermilk biscuits and smothered in a black pepper country gravy.
Dinner at Nitehawk Cinema: ‘Christmas Vacation’ and a Beer in a Pear Tree
Rich Goldstein
December 12, 2014
In any case, it was Solzhenitsyn who explained this to me and not some sage I met in the prison yard.
Reading Prison Novels In Prison
Daniel Genis
May 24, 2014
Will a sage coach like John Calipari be able to outwit a relative newcomer in Kevin Ollie, he of a mere two seasons on the job?
Was Aaron Harrison’s Game-Winning Three-Pointer ‘Clutch’?
Robert Silverman
April 7, 2014
From here on, he was a philosopher, a sage, and his interviews were stuffed full of dicta, parables and eternal paradoxes.
What It Was Like to Watch the Beatles Become the Beatles—Nik Cohn Remembers
Nik Cohn
February 9, 2014

Historical Examples of sage

"I am satisfied with the pursuit of wisdom, not with the fame of it," replied the sage.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
You may think that your sage counsels restrained her, but they did not; it was that she loved some one else.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
He was still chuckling when he spoke, sage from much experience of ocean travel.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
Why in this world are you talking about stones and sage and greasewood?
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
She seemed born, not only to captivate the giddy, but to turn the heads of the sage.
Alice, or The Mysteries, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for sage

sage

noun

a man revered for his profound wisdom

adjective

profoundly wise or prudent

obsolete solemn

Derived Formssagely, adverbsageness, noun

Word Origin for sage

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

sage

noun

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

the leaves of this plant, used in cooking for flavouring

short for sagebrush

Word Origin for sage

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

Le Sage

Lesage

noun

Alain-René (alɛ̃rəne). 1668–1747, French novelist and dramatist, author of the picaresque novel Gil Blas (1715–35)

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

Word Origin and History for sage

adj.

"wise," c.1300 (late 12c. as a surname), from Old French sage "wise, knowledgeable, learned; shrewd, skillful" (11c.), from Gallo-Romance *sabius, from Vulgar Latin *sapius, from Latin sapere "have a taste, have good taste, be wise," from PIE root *sap- "to taste" (see sap (n.1)). Meaning "characterized by wisdom" is from 1530s. Related: Sageness.

n.1

kind of herb (Salvia officinalis), early 14c., from Old French sauge (13c.), from Latin salvia, from salvus "healthy" (see safe (adj.)). So called for its healing or preserving qualities (it was used to keep teeth clean and relieve sore gums, and boiled in water to make a drink to alleviate arthritis). In English folklore, sage, like parsley, is said to grow best where the wife is dominant. In late Old English as salvie, directly from Latin. Cf. German Salbei, also from Latin.

n.2

"man of profound wisdom," mid-14c., from sage (adj.). Originally applied to the Seven Sages -- Thales, Solon, Periander, Cleobulus, Chilon, Bias, and Pittacus.