apothegm

apothegm
apothegm (n.) "pithy saying," 1550s, from Gk. apophthegma "terse, pointed saying," lit. "something clearly spoken," from apophthengesthai "to speak one's opinion plainly," from apo- "from" (see APO- (Cf. apo-)) + phthengesthai "to utter." See APHORISM (Cf. aphorism) for nuances of usage. Spelling apophthegm, restored by Johnson, is preferred in England, according to OED.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Apothegm — Ap o*thegm, Apophthegm Ap oph*thegm, n. [Gr. apo fqegma thing uttered, apothegm, from apofqe ggesqai to speak out; apo from + fqe ggesqai to speak.] A short, pithy, and instructive saying; a terse remark, conveying some important truth; a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • apothegm — index phrase Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • apothegm — aphorism, epigram, *saying, saw, maxim, adage, proverb, motto …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • apothegm — [ap′ə them΄] n. [Gr apophthegma, a terse, pointed saying < apophthengesthai < apo , from + phthengesthai, to utter] a short, pithy saying (Ex.: “Brevity is the soul of wit”) apothegmatic [ap΄ə theg mat′ik] adj. apothegmatical …   English World dictionary

  • apothegm — noun /ˈæp.ə.θɛm/ A short, witty, instructive saying; an aphorism or maxim. Every glaſs of wine, or bit almoſt, that I committed to my mouth, ſhe uſhered thither with ſome Apothegm <! [sic] capitalized or other: the whole ſeries, indeed, of her …   Wiktionary

  • apothegm — US var. of APOPHTHEGM. * * * apothegm, them variants of apophthegm …   Useful english dictionary

  • apothegm — noun Etymology: Greek apophthegmat , apophthegma, from apophthengesthai to speak out, from apo + phthengesthai to utter Date: circa 1587 a short, pithy, and instructive saying or formulation ; aphorism • apothegmatic adjective …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • apothegm — apothegmatic /ap euh theg mat ik/, apothegmatical, adj. apothegmatically, adv. /ap euh them /, n. a short, pithy, instructive saying; a terse remark or aphorism. Also, apophthegm. [1545 55; earlier apothegma < Gk apóphthegma, equiv. to apophtheg… …   Universalium

  • apothegm — Synonyms and related words: adage, ana, analects, aphorism, axiom, bon mot, boutade, bright idea, bright thought, brilliant idea, brocard, byword, catchword, collected sayings, conceit, crack, current saying, dictate, dictum, distich, epigram,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • apothegm — (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. saying, maxim …   English dictionary for students

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