adage

noun

ad·​age ˈa-dij 

: a saying often in metaphorical form that typically embodies a common observation

She reminded him of the adage: "A penny saved is a penny earned."

Synonyms

• aphorism
• apothegm
• byword
• epigram
• maxim
• proverb
• saw
• saying
• sententia
• word

Examples of adage in a Sentence

that old adage, “the early bird gets the worm”

Recent Examples on the Web

Like the old adage about waiting a long time for a bus only to have three show up at once, Dries Van Noten — nearly glacial in the past regarding store openings — has four in the cards this year. —Miles Socha, WWD, 25 Feb. 2025

The plus for Wrexham comes via the old adage ‘form is temporary but class is permanent’, with O’Connell having featured in 11 of those 12 clean sheets in the league this season and Cleworth in 10. —Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025

Don’t set yourself on fire to keep someone else warm, as the popular adage reminds us. —Anna Pulley, Chicago Tribune, 20 Feb. 2025

Here, 18 members of Forbes Coaches Council share powerful maxims, sayings, phrases and adages founders can turn to when challenges arise. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French, borrowed from Latin adagiō, adagium, from ad- ad- + ag-, base of aiō, āiō "(I) say" (going back to *ag-i̯ō, going back to an Indo-European verb stem *h₂eǵ-i̯e- "say") + -ium, deverbal noun suffix; akin to Greek ê "(s/he) spoke," án-ōga "(I) command," Armenian asem "(I) say," Tocharian B āks- "announce, proclaim"

Note: The Latin form is possibly adāgiō; the lack of vowel reduction in the second syllable is otherwise unexplained. Michiel de Vaan, Etymological Dictionary of Latin (Brill, 2008), believes that the base is not aiō, but rather adigō, "I drive/thrust/plunge into, force, impel." Semantically, this is not compelling, and does not in any case solve the problem of the second syllable. On the other hand, the lack of attestation for aiō with any prefixes aside from this noun is striking.

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

adage

noun

ad·​age ˈad-ij 

: an old familiar saying : proverb