sage

sage · adjective, noun¹

1. Latin · derived fromsapere“to taste, to discern, to be wise”
2. Vulgar Latin · derived from*sapium
3. Old French · derived fromsage
4. Middle English · inherited fromsage
5. English todaysage

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.

sage · noun²

1. Latin · derived fromsalvia
2. Old French · derived fromsalje
3. Middle French · derived fromsauge
4. Middle English · inherited fromsauge
5. English todaysage

From Middle English sauge, from Middle French sauge, from Old French salje, from Latin salvia, from salvus (“healthy”), see safe. Doublet of salvia.

sage · interjection, verb³

1. Japanese · borrowed fromsage
2. English todaysage

Borrowed from Japanese sage (sage), from 下げる (sageru, “to lower”). From 2channel.

Sage · proper noun⁴

* As an English and French surname, from sage, a nickname for a wise person. The given name, in general use since the 1990s, is also associated with the sage plant. Compare Desage, Lesage. * As an Irish surname, variant of Savage. * As a German surname, from a placename derived from the noun sege (“sedge”) (see sedge).

Words from the same roots