gnomic

adjective

gno·mic ˈnō-mik

: characterized by aphorism

gnomic utterances

: given to the composition of gnomic writing

a gnomic poet

Did you know?

A gnome is an aphorism—that is, an observation or sentiment reduced to the form of a saying. Gnomes are sometimes couched in metaphorical or figurative language, they are often quite clever, and they are always concise. We borrowed the word gnome in the 16th century from the Greeks, who based their gnome on the verb gignōskein, meaning "to know." (The other gnome—referring to the dwarf of folklore—comes from New Latin and is unrelated to the aphoristic gnome.) We began using gnomic, the adjective form of gnome, in the late 18th century. It describes a style of writing, or sometimes speech, characterized by pithy phrases, which are often terse to the point of mysteriousness.

Examples of gnomic in a Sentence

He made gnomic utterances concerning death.

Recent Examples on the Web

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For me, the film provided a welcome excuse to read up on Dylan, who has always been a reputable source of enjoyably gnomic quotes, self-mythologizing, and enigmatic asides. —

Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 4 Jan. 2025 The case supervisors and crime bosses are female, too—played by such veteran character actresses as Lancashire, Tracey Ullman, and a gnomic Kathryn Hunter. —

Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024 The Messiah is a collection of gnomic scriptural passages that are prophetic in import but offer no story at all. —

Jan Swafford, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2024 The Mathematical Pranksters behind Nicolas Bourbaki Bourbaki was gnomic and mythical, impossible to pin down; his mathematics just the opposite: unified, unambiguous, free of human idiosyncrasy. —

JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for gnomic