Adage
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Adage — Lexical Term
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The Lexical Term: “Adage”
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The Lexical Term, “Adage” — represents a Grammtical Structure which is any short Phrase — similar to an Aphorism — which is: Concise, Memorable, and usually Philosophical (or at-least slightly philosophical).
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Another important part that causes a simply phrase to be known-as an Adage, is that is has been used for many years, and often within different cultures throughout the world. They are, essentially, very basic phrases which express some Truth which is obvious, well-known, and not usually contested.
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The term “Adage” — is often described as some sort of aphorism… However, the term, “Aphorism” is often described as being different than an Adage; specifically that it is not as old, or widley used.
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The Difference Between Adage & Aphorism
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The truth is — both of these terms are going to be considered in different ways by different people. Most people who are not language professionals will cal ALL Lexical Phrases: “Sayings” or “Figures Of Speech”.
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And most people who ARE (supposedly) “Language Professionals” simply refer to ALL of them as “Phrases”… (which is like referring to Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo & Violet as nothing more than “Colors”… It may be true, but it isn’t saying much.)
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Adage Vs Aphorism
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An Adage Is A Commonly Known Phrase That Conveys Some Simple Truth Which Has Been Used For Many Many Years, And Is Generally Not Contested.
“Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch”
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An Aphorism Is Any Phrase Which Is Used To Convey Some Idea About Life, But Which May Be Contested As It Is Not Universally True.
“A Watched Pot Never Boils”
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Another way to think about this is — An Adage is usually a phrase which can be something that a person “Lives By” — like a personal philosophy, or guiding principle. Where-as — An Aphorism is used to make some sort of comment regarding a specific situation.
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