apothegm

ap·o·thegm

also ap·o·phthegm (ăp′ə-thĕm′)

A terse, witty, instructive saying; a maxim.

[Greek apophthegma, from apophthengesthai, to speak plainly : apo-, intensive pref.; see apo- + phthengesthai, phtheg-, to speak.]

ap′o·theg·mat′ic (-thĕg-măt′ĭk), ap′o·theg·mat′i·cal (-ĭ-kəl) adj.

ap′o·theg·mat′i·cal·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

apothegm

(ˈæpəˌθɛm)

a variant spelling of apophthegm

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ap•o•thegm

or ap•o•phthegm

(ˈæp əˌθɛm)

n.

a short, pithy saying.

[1545–55; < Greek apóphthegma <apophtheg-, variant s. of apophthéngesthai to speak out]

ap`o•theg•mat′ic (-θɛgˈmæt ɪk) adj.

apothegm

- A terse, pointed saying or pithy maxim; it is pronounced AP-uh-them and may also be spelled apophthegm.

See also related terms for pointed.

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Noun

apothegm - a short pithy instructive saying

aphorism, apophthegm

axiom, maxim - a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits

Translations

apoftegma

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References in classic literature ?

IT WAS shown in the last paper that the political apothegm there examined does not require that the legislative, executive, and judiciary departments should be wholly unconnected with each other.

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"Let no one deem himself happy before his end," were the words of Solon; and here was a new and brilliant proof of the wisdom of the old apothegm.

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To this last apothegm poor Hepzibah responded with a sigh so deep and heavy that it almost rustled Uncle Venner quite away, like a withered leaf,--as he was,--before an autumnal gale.

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Otherwise the apothegm "de gustibus non es disputandem" would apply.

Spiritualistic Energy as Dynamic

'Build, build, build' is the Duterte administration's favorite apothegm, jingle, call to action, catchphrase, mantra, slogan, whatever.

Plant, plant, plant

A Yoruba apothegm aptly states that it is not he who was struck by a reckless driver that makes mental note of the registration number of the vehicle.

The audacity of impunity

Saguisag thinks his namesake, Corona, 'committed suicide by taking the witness stand to defend himself, at war with the apothegm that a lawyer who defends himself has a fool for a client.'

The lessons to be learned from Corona's 2012 trial

Only One of the earlier drawings contains writing, a 1990 piece that illuminates the words hey jimmy / ain't you heard / race and art / are far apart / postcard from langston hughes to james / baldwin 1962; I'm not sure whether Hughes's apothegm names a problem or its solution.

Stanley Whitney: LISSON GALLERY

"Between two evils," goes an idealist apothegm, "choose neither." But to decline the choice makes possible one or both of the evils one is repelled by.

Good Kill and Eye in the Sky

This apothegm distilled the ethos of the Rastafari conference convened in 2010 at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.

Jahlani Niaah & Erin MacLeod (eds.): Let Us Start With Africa: Foundations of Rastafari Scholarship

The essentially symbolic resonances of its plot--Orpheus's descent into the underworld and attempts to lead Eurydice out of it through his songs--could be interpreted as a poetic representation of the apothegm "Hope Dieth, Love Liveth." (29) Eurydice is portrayed as not merely Orpheus's beloved but "the desire of all the world," an archetype of beauty and fertility in which nature finds its meaning.