Meanings
-
1
noun
a concise, memorable statement expressing a general truth or principle
The scientist opened the lecture with the aphorism that correlation is not causation.
-
2
noun
a brief formulation of a principle in a specialized field of knowledge
The physician summarized the diagnostic rule in a compact aphorism.
Thesaurus
Etymology
Through French and Medieval Latin aphorismus from Greek aphorismos, 'definition or delimitation,' from aphorizein, 'to mark off or define.' Its association with concise principles was reinforced by the short medical propositions known as the Aphorisms of Hippocrates.