Word of the Day Archive
Thursday September 9, 2004
adage \AD-ij\ , noun:
An old saying, which has obtained credit by long use; a proverb.
Did she sense the proverbial limp in my walk: proverbial as the Somali adage in which it is said that a lie has a lame leg, truth a healthy one.
-- Nuruddin Farah, Secrets
We may find out too late the wisdom of the adage that cautions us to be careful what we wish for lest we get it.
-- Charles Murray, What It Means to Be a Libertarian
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me, the old adage goes.
-- Zachary Karabell, "No Left Turn", New York Times, September 24, 2000
Adage derives from the Latin adagium (akin to aio, "I say").
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for adage
