sagely
adjEtymology From sage + -ly (adjectival suffix).
1
Resembling or characteristic of a sage.
- It begins sufficiently well, but the author has hardly enunciated his preliminary apotheems, when he conducts into an obscurity where we can hardly grope our way, and when we emerge from that, it is to be bewildered by his gorgeous but unsubstantial pictures of sagely perfection.1861, James Legge, “[The Doctrine of the Mean.] Its Scope and Value.”, in The Chinese Classics: […], volume I, Hong Kong: At the author’s; London: Trübner & Co., […], →OCLC, page 55:
- Featuring a sagely captain, a first officer with aerodynamic lobes, riveting adventures and special effects unheard of for its time, the show gained unbelievable notoriety across the globe.1997 December, Tim Royal, “Starfleet Academy”, in Steve Bauman, editor, Computer Games Strategy Plus, Rochester, Vt.: Strategy Plus, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 208, column 1:
1 more example
- He had been both case study and examiner of the effects of ostracism, now wielding a sagely sort of nuance in essays like “Letter to Prisoners” (1983), an early draft of which is on view at the Schomburg: “What artists and prisoners have in common,” he writes, “is that they both know what it means to be free.”2024 September 12, Walker Mimms, “A Double Homage for James Baldwin’s 100th. Will It Ever Be Enough?”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Sep 2024:
- Derived terms
- sageliness