Primary
''sage'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260331180822-00-⌔
sage - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English
Adjective
sage (comparative sager, superlative sagest)
- Wise.
- ✤ Harry the fift is crownd, vp vanitie,/Downe royall ſtate, all you ſage counſailers, hence,/And to the Engliſh Court aſſemble now/From euery region, apes of idleneſſe: […]1
- ✤ Howbeit the Caledonians with great preparation, and by rumor, as of things unknown much greater, taking Armes, and of thir own accord begining Warr by the aſſault of ſundry Caſtles, ſent back ſome of thir fear to the Romans themſelves: and there were of the Commanders, who cloaking thir fear under ſhew of ſage advice, counſel’d the General to retreat back on this ſide Bodotria.2
- ✤ CHAPTER VII. In which Jack makes some very sage reflections, and comes to a very unwise decision.3
- (obsolete) Grave; serious; solemn.
Noun
sage (plural sages)
- A very wise person or spiritual teacher; someone of gravity and wisdom, especially, a teacher venerable for years, and of sound judgment and prudence; a grave or stoic philosopher.
- ✤ ’Tis certain, that, while we aſpire to the magnanimous Firmneſs of the philoſophic Sage, and endeavour to confine our Pleaſures altogether within our own Minds, we may, at laſt, render our Philoſophy, like that of Epictetus and other Stoics, only a more refin’d Syſtem of Selfiſhneſs, and reaſon ourſelves out of all Virtue, as well as ſocial Enjoyment.4
- ✤ All sages and physicians agree in saying that the ills which afflict man originate with the abuse of coition.5
Noun
sage (usually uncountable, plural sages)
- The plant Salvia officinalis and savory spice produced from it; also planted for ornamental purposes.
- Any plant in the genus Salvia.
- ✤ Synonym: salvia
- Any of a number of plants such as sagebrush considered to be similar to Salvia officinalis, mostly because they are small shrubs and have gray foliage or are aromatic.
Interjection
sage
- (4chan slang, Internet slang) Word used in the email field of imageboards to prevent a bump of the post. Used as an option rather than a word in some imageboard software.
- ✤ * sage in all fields*
Verb
sage (third-person singular simple present sages, present participle saging, simple past and past participle saged)
- (4chan slang, Internet slang) The act of using the word or option sage in the email field or a checkbox of an imageboard when posting a reply.
- ✤ Reminder to sage and report.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /seɪd͡ʒ/
- Audio (US): 🔊
- Rhymes: -eɪdʒ
Etymology 1
From Middle English sage, from Old French sage (11th century), from Vulgar Latin ﹡sapium, from Latin sapere (“to taste, to discern, to be wise”).
The noun meaning “man of profound wisdom” is recorded from circa 1300. Originally applied to the Seven Sages of Greece.
Etymology 2
From Middle English sauge, from Middle French sauge, from Old French salje, from Latin salvia, from salvus (“healthy”), see safe. Doublet of salvia.
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Japanese sage (sage), from 下げる (sageru, “to lower”). From 2channel.
Pronunciation
- Etymologically/sɑɡeɪ/, but often/seɪdʒ/due to its English homograph.
Printed 2026-06-28.
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Link to original Footnotes
c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv], signature I, recto: ↩
1670, John Milton, “The Second Book”, in The History of Britain, that Part Especially now Call’d England. […], London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for James Allestry, […], →OCLC, page 72: ↩
1836, [Frederick Marryat], “In which Jack makes some very sage reflections, and comes to a very unwise decision”, in Mr. Midshipman Easy […], volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, page 77: ↩
1748, [David Hume], “Essay V. Sceptical Solution of these Doubts.”, in Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, part I, page 69: ↩
1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 91: ↩
Secondary
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