apothegm
Other forms: apothegms
An apothegm is a short instructive saying that's easy to remember and sometimes even slightly witty, like "haste makes waste." An apothegm often expresses a fundamental truth or general rule.
To correctly pronounce apothegm, put the accent on the first syllable and give it the short a sound, as in apple: "A-puh-them." It comes from the Greek word apophthegma, meaning "terse, pointed saying," derived from apo-, meaning "from," and phthengesthai, meaning "to utter."
-
a short pithy instructive sayingsynonyms: aphorism, apophthegm
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
Vocabulary lists containing apothegm
San Diego's citywide celebration of Poe included this tribute from a local columnist. Drawn from The Gory, Glorious Words of Edgar Allan Poe: Shades of Poe voiceofsandiego.org April 16, 2012
This list of challenge words features some of the hardest words that you will encounter in the Verbal Reasoning section of the GRE. These are words that typically appear less frequently across different academic disciplines, so you are less likely to have encountered them before. Master these difficult words and watch your GRE score soar!
