A brief, clever, and memorable saying or maxim; a witty remark that contains wisdom or truth.
From Greek apophthegma, meaning 'a terse saying' or 'utterance,' derived from apo- (off) and phthenggesthai (to utter). Popular in Renaissance literature.
Shakespeare and other Renaissance writers were obsessed with apophthegms—they collected them in books the way people collect memes today! Famous apophthegms like 'Know thyself' are still quoted 2,500 years later.
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