Skip to content
word of the day

The word for today is…

gnomic (adj) – Marked by aphorisms; aphoristic.

An aphorism is an adage.

Source : The Free Dictionary

Etymology : A gnome is an aphorism—that is, an observation or sentiment reduced to the form of a saying. Gnomes are sometimes couched in metaphorical or figurative language, they are often quite clever, and they are always concise. We borrowed the word gnome in the 16th century from the Greeks, who based their gnome on the verb gign?skein, meaning “to know.” (The other gnome—referring to the dwarf of folklore—comes from New Latin and is unrelated to the aphoristic gnome.) We began using gnomic, the adjective form of gnome, in the late 18th century. It describes a style of writing, or sometimes speech, characterized by pithy phrases, which are often terse to the point of mysteriousness.

Latest

Thinking About Race and IQ

Thinking About Race and IQ

We seem destined to continue the equality thesis, the persistent gaps in IQ and other test scores behoove us to acknowledge that our efforts have not worked. In some sense, DEI efforts are an admission of that failure, as they seek to reapportion society’s spoils based on race rather than merit.

Members Public