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Webster 1913 Edition

Noun.

[F.

adage

, fr. L.

adagium

;

+ the root of L.

aio

I say.]

An old saying, which has obtained credit by long use; a proverb.

Letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would,”
Like the poor cat i’ the

adage

Shakespeare

Syn. – Axiom; maxim; aphorism; proverb; saying; saw; apothegm. See

Noun.

[L. adagium, or adagio]

A proverb; an old saying, which has obtained credit by long use; a wise observation handed down from antiquity.