New Word Wednesday

So I've given up "regular" features - in that I can't keep up with scheduled stuff every week - but I'll still drop the post title when appropriate.

Anyway, today it's Apothegm (I was SURE that was a typo when I first read it - who puts g and m together in a word?)


ap·o·thegm

   [ap-uh-them]  Show IPA
–noun
a short, pithy, instructive saying; a terse remark or aphorism.
Also, apophthegm.

Origin: 
1545–55;  earlier apothegma  < Gk apóphthegma,  equiv. toapophtheg-  (var. s. of apophthéngesthai  to speak out; apo- apo- + phthéngesthai  to speak) + -ma  n. suffix

—Related forms
ap·o·theg·mat·ic  [ap-uh-theg-mat-ik]  Show IPA, ap·o·theg·mat·i·cal, adjective
ap·o·theg·mat·i·cal·ly, adverb

—Can be confused:  adage, aphorism, apothegm, axiom, maxim,proverb.
Dictionary.com Unabridged 
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010. 

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