Skip to content
word of the day

Table of Contents

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

Is He Sniffing the Winds?

Is He Sniffing the Winds?

The joke at the moment across the Western democracies is that you’re often seeing coalitions in all but name via the so-called “uni-party” where parties simply exchange power but maintain the same overall policies. People have had a gutsful of their votes changing nothing in their lives.

Members Public
The Good Oil Daily Opinion Poll

The Good Oil Daily Opinion Poll

Take our Daily Opinion Poll and see how your views compare to other readers and then share the poll on social media. By sharing the poll you will help even more readers to discover The Good Oil.

Members Public