adage Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
    proverb; saw; byword.

WordNet

Ad"age noun
Etymology
F. adage, fr. L. adagium; ad + the root of L. aio I say.
Definitions
  1. 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. Shak.
    Syn. -- Axiom; maxim; aphorism; proverb; saying; saw; apothegm. See Axiom.

Webster 1913