adage

/ˈæd.ɪd͡ʒ/

//ˈæd.ɪd͡ʒ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"adage" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“adage” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,675. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,675
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An old saying which has obtained credit by long use.

Corpus desk

Index EN-adage · adage · English

adage · rank #30,675 · 6 variants · 17 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,675
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Aguilera

Nearest frequency peer: Aguilera (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “adage”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “adage” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

adage vs age
60% similar
adage vs Adam
40% similar
adage vs Ange
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for adage
PropertyValue
Headwordadage
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæd.ɪd͡ʒ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#30,675
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “adage”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).adagelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Aguilera” (#30,676), “ach” (#30,673), “airtight” (#30,677). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “adage” is #30,675. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around adage (IPA /ˈæd.ɪd͡ʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #30,675 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for adage, with forms such as "aadge", "adaeg", and "adagge". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "age", "Adam", "Ange", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French adage, from Latin adā̆gium. The correct English form is adage, spelled A-D-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An old saying which has obtained credit by long use.
  2. 2
    An old saying which has been overused or considered a cliché; a trite maxim.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how adage appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He describes the operation thus: "The heavy ram employed to impart the finishing strokes, hoisted up with double purchase and snail's pace to the summit of the Piling Engine, and then falling down like a thunderbolt on the head of the devoted timber, driving it perhaps a single half inch in to the stratum below, is well calculated to put to the test the v…
  2. Like the poore Cat i’ th’ Addage.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French adage, from Latin adā̆gium.

This word in other languages

adagio(Español)Sprichwort(Deutsch)adágio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aadge
  • adaeg
  • adagge
  • addage
  • adgae
  • daage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of adage - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

aadge2adaeg2adagge1addage1adgae2daage2
Edit distance from "adage"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "adage"?
"adage" is spelled A-D-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæd.ɪd͡ʒ/.
What does "adage" mean?
As a noun, "adage" means: An old saying which has obtained credit by long use.
What words are commonly confused with "adage"?
"adage" is commonly confused with "age", "Adam", "Ange". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "adage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "adage" is /ˈæd.ɪd͡ʒ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "adage"?
Borrowed from Middle French adage, from Latin adā̆gium. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "adage", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

all's#30,679whirl#30,653boyer#30,708brash#30,709

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

argh6 variantsarroyo6 variantswack6 variantsUSAID6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list