adage

[ad-ij] /ˈæd ɪdʒ/
noun
1.
a traditional saying expressing a common experience or observation; proverb.
Origin
1540-50; < French < Latin adagium, equivalent to ad- ad- + ag- (stem of āio I say) + -ium -ium
Related forms
adagial
[uh-dey-jee-uh l] /əˈdeɪ dʒi əl/ (Show IPA), adjective
Can be confused
adage, aphorism, apothegm, axiom, maxim, proverb.
Examples from the web for adage
  • So you don't believe in the adage, "write what you know"? It's very good advice if what you know is interesting.
  • The adage that one man's trash is another's treasure still holds true for many music lovers.
  • At this point, the old “just add water” adage rang true.
  • It at least proves the adage that money cannot buy good taste.
  • There's really truth to the old adage that one bad apple spoils the bunch.
  • It's a modern solution to the adage that urges you to recognize that charity starts at home.
  • Note to our leadders: Recall the adage, haste makes waste -- that applies in both economic and democratic contexts.
  • It may be true, as the old adage has it, that success has a hundred fathers and failure is an orphan.
  • Miamians are strong believers in the adage that all work and no play makes for a dull city, and Miami is anything but dull.
  • Unfortunately, not everyone lives by the adage that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
British Dictionary definitions for adage

adage

/ˈædɪdʒ/
noun
1.
a traditional saying that is accepted by many as true or partially true; proverb
Word Origin
C16: via Old French from Latin adagium; related to āio I say
Word Origin and History for adage
n.

1540s, Middle French adage, from Latin adagium "adage, proverb," apparently from adagio, from ad- "to" (see ad-) + *agi-, root of aio "I say," from PIE *ag- "to speak." But Tucker thinks the second element is rather ago "set in motion, drive, urge."

Encyclopedia Article for adage

a saying, often in metaphoric form, that embodies a common observation, such as "If the shoe fits, wear it,'' "Out of the frying pan, into the fire,'' or "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.'' The scholar Erasmus published a well-known collection of adages as Adagia in 1508. The word is from the Latin adagium, "proverb."

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