Apophthegm

APOPHTHEGM (from the Gr. curo^ty no.) , a short and pointed utterance. The usual spelling up to Johnson's day was apothegm, which Webster and Worcester still prefer; it indicates the pronunciation— i.e. " apothem " — better than the other, which, however, is more usual in England and follows the derivation. Such sententious remarks as " Knowledge is Power " are apophthegms. They become " proverbs " by age and acceptance. Plutarch made a famous collection in his Apophthegmata Laconica.