adage

noun

ad·​age ˈa-dij 

: a saying often in metaphorical form that typically embodies a common observation

She reminded him of the adage: "A penny saved is a penny earned."

Synonyms

• aphorism
• apothegm
• byword
• epigram
• maxim
• proverb
• saw
• saying
• sententia
• word

Examples of adage in a Sentence

that old adage, “the early bird gets the worm”

Recent Examples on the Web

Leaning on the classic adage to bring home the critical point. —Simi Thambi​, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024

There is an adage in Hollywood that actors want to win awards to boost their egos, whereas directors want to win awards to boost their budgets. —Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024

The old adage 'What gets measured gets managed' is applicable here. —Dasha Shunina, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024

Listening to you vent about life and offering reassuring adages to get you through the day. —Morgan Korn, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2024

For his new movie Arthur the King, Mark Wahlberg happily ignored that old showbiz adage: Never work with children or animals. —Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 13 Mar. 2024

In fact, exposure therapy ostensibly puts that adage into practice. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 7 Mar. 2024

There is an old garden adage that tells us that the garden grows best in the shadow of the gardener. —Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2024

Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid are definitely taking the adage to heart, as evidenced by their New York City breakfast outing this morning. —Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 26 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French, borrowed from Latin adagiō, adagium, from ad- ad- + ag-, base of aiō, āiō "(I) say" (going back to *ag-i̯ō, going back to an Indo-European verb stem *h₂eǵ-i̯e- "say") + -ium, deverbal noun suffix; akin to Greek ê "(s/he) spoke," án-ōga "(I) command," Armenian asem "(I) say," Tocharian B āks- "announce, proclaim"

Note: The Latin form is possibly adāgiō; the lack of vowel reduction in the second syllable is otherwise unexplained. Michiel de Vaan, Etymological Dictionary of Latin (Brill, 2008), believes that the base is not aiō, but rather adigō, "I drive/thrust/plunge into, force, impel." Semantically, this is not compelling, and does not in any case solve the problem of the second syllable. On the other hand, the lack of attestation for aiō with any prefixes aside from this noun is striking.

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

adage

noun

ad·​age ˈad-ij 

: an old familiar saying : proverb