aphorism
noun /ˈæfərɪzəm/
/ˈæfərɪzəm/
(formal)- a short phrase that says something true or wise
- Johnson’s aphorism: ‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.’
Word Originearly 16th cent.: from French aphorisme or late Latin aphorismus, from Greek aphorismos ‘definition’, from aphorizein ‘define’.