adage
/ˈæd.ɪd͡ʒ/ noun
Forms adages
- noun An old saying which has obtained credit by long use. “According to an old adage, oysters are best in months containing the letter R.”
- noun (rhetoric) An old saying which has been overused or considered a cliché; a trite maxim.
Synonyms
proverb colloquialism apophthegm byword saying saw maxim apothegm dictum gnome gnomic saying mantra paroemia old saw
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French adage, from Latin adā̆gium.
Clipping of adagio.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [F. adage, fr. L. adagium; ad + the root of L. aio I say.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “adage”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details