Aphorises

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Expresses thoughts in brief, pointed sayings that state a general truth in a memorable way
2. Speaks or writes in terse, witty maxims that condense a principle into a single sentence
3. Phrases observations as short, pithy statements of wisdom, often with a sharp or clever turn

Etymology: "Aphorises" is the third-person singular present form of the verb "aphorise", so it describes someone who frames ideas as short, pointed sayings. The verb itself is the British spelling of "aphorize", which comes from the noun "aphorism". That noun traces back through Latin "aphorismus" to Greek "aphorismos", a word built from "aphorizein", meaning "to define" or "to mark off by boundaries", from "apo" ("off, away") and "horos" ("boundary, limit"). The original sense was about setting a limit on a concept, and the modern idea of a brief, memorable saying grew from that notion of a concise, bounded statement.

Synonyms: epigrammatize