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a short, pithy, instructive saying; a terse remark or aphorism.
historical examples

it has been an apothegm these five thousand years, that toil sweetens the bread it earns.
the old manse (from “mosses from an old manse”) nathaniel hawthorne

that a style of this kind should be rich in apothegm is not surprising.
francis beaumont: dramatist charles mills gayley

the great poet mutanebbi has given us an apothegm of great power on this very subject.
the women of the arabs henry harris jessup

but the truth of this apothegm was not sustained in the present instance.
hansford: a tale of bacon’s rebellion st. george tucker

“laugh and grow fat” is an apothegm which all people cannot follow, but our mother did in the most satisfactory manner.
marmaduke merry william h. g. kingston

this apothegm is based upon reason, justice and sound philosophy.
sages and heroes of the american revolution l. carroll judson

he delighted to express his opinions by an apothegm, ill-strate them by a parable, or drive them home by a story.
our american holidays: lincoln’s birthday various

the trouble with riderhood’s apothegm is that it supplies an endless excuse for not doing it.
from the easy chair, series 2 george william curtis

belonging to the same species of apothegm is what is called the gnome, a universal expression about life stated briefly.
essays and miscellanies plutarch

with this apothegm from the storehouse of her lately acquired wisdom, she p-ssed to the next paragraph.
at last marion harland

noun
a variant spelling of apophthegm
n.

“pithy saying,” 1550s, from greek apophthegma “terse, pointed saying,” literally “something clearly spoken,” from apophthengesthai “to speak one’s opinion plainly,” from apo- “from” (see apo-) + phthengesthai “to utter.” see aphorism for nuances of usage. spelling apophthegm, restored by johnson, is preferred in england, according to oed.