1 March 2016

apothegm or apophthegm

[ap-uh-them]

noun

1. a short, pithy, instructive saying; a terse remark or aphorism.

Origin of apothegm

Greek

1545-1555; earlier apothegma < Greek apóphthegma, equivalent to apophtheg- (variant stem of apophthéngesthai to speak out; apo- apo- + phthéngesthai to speak) + -ma noun suffix

Related forms

apothegmatic [ap-uh-theg-mat-ik] (Show IPA), apothegmatical, adjective
apothegmatically, adverb

Can be confused

adage, aphorism, apothegm, axiom, maxim, proverb.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for apothegm

Historical Examples

It has been an apothegm these five thousand years, that toil sweetens the bread it earns.
The Old Manse (From “Mosses From An Old Manse”)
Nathaniel Hawthorne

That a style of this kind should be rich in apothegm is not surprising.
Francis Beaumont: Dramatist
Charles Mills Gayley

The great poet Mutanebbi has given us an apothegm of great power on this very subject.
The Women of the Arabs
Henry Harris Jessup

But the truth of this apothegm was not sustained in the present instance.
Hansford: A Tale of Bacon’s Rebellion
St. George Tucker

Anagram

moth gape
hag tempo
ah gem pot
he got map

Today’s quote

I have something that I call my Golden Rule. It goes something like this: ‘Do unto others twenty-five percent better than you expect them to do unto you.’ … The twenty-five percent is for error.

– Linus Pauling

On this day

1 March 1954 – The U.S. tests a hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll, in the Marshall Island, Pacific Ocean.

1 March 1981 – Bobby Sands, member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) begins a hunger strike at HM Prison Maze, Dublin. He was protesting certain conditions in prison. During the strike he was elected as a Member of Parliament. He died after 65 days.