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

• proverb
• saying
• word
• maxim

Examples of adage in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

There is an old adage that the league table isn’t worth looking at until teams have played 10 matches. —Tim Spiers, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025

Each game is its own separate specimen, and the old adage that momentum in baseball is tied to that night’s starting pitcher is quite true. —Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 29 Oct. 2025

That is the adage used to scold someone whose gaze is fixed on a particular subject a little too long. —Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025

The second round is a bigger swing, a bolder gambit all the way around, really, and not just because it’s based on a high-stakes example of the adage about asking for forgiveness being better than waiting for permission. —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2025

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