Letting ``I dare not'' wait upon ``I would,''
Like the poor cat i' the adage. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Axiom; maxim; aphorism; proverb; saying; saw; apothegm. See {Axiom}. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
adage — (n.) 1540s, M.Fr. adage, from L. adagium adage, proverb, apparently from adagio, from ad to (see AD (Cf. ad )) + *agi , root of aio I say, from PIE *ag to speak. But Tucker thinks the second element is rather ago … Etymology dictionary
adage — ADAGE. sub. m. Proverbe. Il n est guère d usage qu en plaisanterie, particulièrement dans cette phrase, On dit en commun adage. On dit aussi, D un homme qui affecte un ton sentencieux, Il ne parle que par adages. On appelle Les Adages d Érasme,… … Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798
adage — index catchword, maxim, phrase, principle (axiom) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
adage — bradage grenadage … Dictionnaire des rimes
adage — *saying, saw, proverb, maxim, motto, epigram, aphorism, apothegm … New Dictionary of Synonyms
adage — [n] saying or proverb aphorism, apothegm, axiom, byword, dictum, maxim, motto, precept, saw; concept 276 … New thesaurus
adage — Adage, Adagium, adagij, Adagio, adagionis, Prouerbium … Thresor de la langue françoyse
adage — ADAGE. s. m. Proverbe. Il n est guere en usage qu en cette phrase. Les Adages d Erasme … Dictionnaire de l'Académie française
adage — ► NOUN ▪ a proverb or short statement expressing a general truth. ORIGIN Latin adagium saying , from aio I say … English terms dictionary
adage — [ad′ij] n. [Fr < L adagium, adagio < ad , to + aio, I say < * agyo < IE base * ēg̑ , speak, say] an old saying that has been popularly accepted as a truth SYN. SAYING … English World dictionary
