Aphorise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To state opinions or observations in concise, memorable maxims ; to compose brief pointed sayings that distill a general truth into a few words
2. To phrase thoughts as terse, witty sentences that capture a principle ; to coin short sayings expressing wisdom in a compact form
3. Expressing ideas through sharp, condensed statements of truth ; producing pithy maxims that convey broad observations succinctly

Etymology: The Greek "horos" meant a boundary or limit, and "aphorizein" combined it with "apo-" ("off") to mean "to mark off by a boundary" or "to define." An "aphorismos" was therefore a definition, a precise marking-out of what something is. The sense shifted to short, pointed statements of principle through the Hippocratic "Aphorisms," a collection of brief medical observations. Its famous opening line, "Life is short, the art long," gave the genre its reputation for compressing a lot of meaning into a few words. The noun reached English through Latin and French. The verb is simply the noun with the English "-ise" ending added, meaning to express one's thoughts in aphorisms. Its spelling, with "-ise," is the British form; American writers usually write "aphorize."

Synonyms: aphorize