Definition of "apothegm"
apothegm
noun
plural apothegms
A short, witty, instructive saying; an aphorism or maxim.
Quotations
Every glaſs of wine, or bit almoſt, that I committed to my mouth, ſhe uſhered thither with ſome Apothegm or other: the whole ſeries, indeed, of her diſcourſe, was compoſed of nothing but reaſon or wit, which made me admire her; which ſhe eaſily underſtood, I perceived by her ſmiles, when ſhe obſerved me gaping, as it were, when ſhe ſpoke, as if I would have eaten up her Words.
1665, Richard Head, The English Rogue: Deſcribed, in the Life of Merington Latroon, A Witty Extravagant, Being a Compleat Hiſtory of the Moſt Eminent Cheats of Both Sexes, Henry Marsh, page 355
The account which he [James Ferguson] himself gives of these observations is exceedingly interesting, and strikingly brings out the ingenuity of his mind, and his determination to allow no difficulties of circumstances to stand in his way. [...] Thus we are reminded of the apothegm that where there's a will there's a way—an apothegm which has found illustration in every department of effort, but nowhere more frequently than in the progress of science and art.
1866, W[illiam] K[ing] Tweedie, “James Ferguson. 1710–1776.”, in Youthful Diligence, Future Greatness: A Book for the Young, London, Edinburgh, New York, N.Y.: T[homas] Nelson and Sons, […], pages 273–274