apophthegm

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈæpəˌθɛm/ UK /ˈapəθɛm/ See IPA manual

Homophones

apothegm /ˈæpəˌθɛm/

Meanings

1

noun
a terse, pointed saying; a pithy maxim

"Know thyself" is perhaps the most famous Greek apophthegm.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a terse, pointed saying; a... maxim aphorism adage apothegm saying dictum epigram

Word family

Derived forms apophthegmatic

Related forms apothegm phlegm

Etymology

From Greek apophthegma ('a terse, pointed saying'), from apophthengesthai ('to speak one's opinion plainly'), from apo- ('forth') + phthengesthai ('to utter').

apóphthegma Ancient Greek phthéngesthai Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# apophthegm

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈæpəˌθɛm/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈapəθɛm/

## Meanings
1. a terse, pointed saying; a pithy maxim

## Examples
- "Know thyself" is perhaps the most famous Greek apophthegm.

## Synonyms
- maxim
- aphorism
- adage
- apothegm
- saying
- dictum
- epigram

## Derived Forms
- apophthegmatic

## Related Forms
- apothegm
- phlegm

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: apóphthegma
- Root: phthéngesthai

## Etymology
From Greek apophthegma ('a terse, pointed saying'), from apophthengesthai ('to speak one's opinion plainly'), from apo- ('forth') + phthengesthai ('to utter').

## AI Etymology
apophthegm comes from Greek apophthegma ('a terse, pointed saying'), from apophthengesthai ('to speak one's opinion plainly'), from apo- ('forth') + phthengesthai ('to utter'). Morphologically, the word is transparent as a compound: its parts remain visible in the modern spelling, while the older history of those parts supplies the deeper ancestry. In modern use, the noun sense is "a terse, pointed saying; a pithy maxim", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as apothegm, phlegm and derivatives such as apophthegmatic, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Ancient Greek apóphthegma, Ancient Greek phthéngesthai, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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