Dictionary

sagely en · ADV · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈseɪd͡ʒli/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English sagely, sagilly, equivalent to sage + -ly (adverbial suffix).

Meanings

1. In the manner of a sage, with wisdom, wisely; sagacious.
   • Dr. Ed Wheat has sagely said, “Every physical union should be a contest to see which partner can outplease the other.” 1984, Tim LaHaye, Beverly LaHaye, What Lovemaking Means to a Man, page 32:
   • This pro-war impression on the populace the Navy Department sagely foresaw when it sent its men into the unbriny Northwest. November 10, 1917, Willard Connely, The Independent, Volume 92, "Making Sailors without Ships", Independent Publications, pages 299-300
   • "Hiiiiiiiiiii!" She shuffled towards me in her silver slippers. "I um, heard about the DPS race yesterday! Can't believe you defeated Grumf!" She laughed, then stabbed the air with an imanginary sword. "Wish I could've seen that! I mean, he's not some noob, you know! He's a Diamond-ranked adventurer. Sage Lukas nodded his head sagely. "Your victory has motivated other guild members to try out your peculiar strategy. There have been several positive reports so far..." 2025, Cube Kid [pseudonym; Erik Gunnar Taylor], Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior: Hour of Enchantment, page 117:
   • […] Phil offering and giving advice sagely and gravely 1885, Catherine Louisa Pirkis, Lady Lovelace:
   • The sheikh comes back in, and slowly, we can become a little more personal in our discussion and he nods sagely and then renods. 1977, Edna O'Brien, Arabian Days, page 102:

Forms

sagely en · ADJ · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /ˈseɪd͡ʒli/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From sage + -ly (adjectival suffix).

Meanings

1. Resembling or characteristic of a sage.
   • 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:
   • 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:

Forms

Deriveds

sageliness