adage
/ˈæd.ɪd͡ʒ/noun
adage is spelled A-D-A-G-E: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, adage means “An old saying which has obtained credit by long use” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of adage is adages.
How many letters and syllables are in adage?
| Letters | 5: A-D-A-G-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,789th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is adage?
Adage appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce adage?
- US /ˈæd.ɪd͡ʒ/
As a noun (“Clipping of adagio”): /əˈdɑ(d)ʒ/.
Adage has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-adage.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-adage.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of adage
- adages plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does adage mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An old saying which has obtained credit by long use.
According to an old adage, oysters are best in months containing the letter R.
- 2
An old saying which has been overused or considered a cliché; a trite maxim.
- 3
Clipping of adagio.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Adage in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense old saying:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Sprichwort, geflügeltes Wort |
| Portuguese | adágio, dito, anexim |
| Spanish | adagio, refrán, dicho |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does adage come from?
Borrowed from Middle French adage, from Latin adā̆gium.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).