kind of herb (Salvia officinalis), early 14c., from Old French sauge (13c.), from Latin salvia, from salvus "healthy" (see safe (adj.)). So called for its healing or preserving qualities (it was used to keep teeth clean and relieve sore gums, and boiled in water to make a drink to alleviate arthritis). In English folklore, sage, like parsley, is said to grow best where the wife is dominant. In late Old English as salvie, directly from Latin. Compare German Salbei, also from Latin.
sage (adj.)
"wise," c. 1300 (late 12c. as a surname), from Old French sage "wise, knowledgeable, learned; shrewd, skillful" (11c.), from Gallo-Roman *sabius, from Vulgar Latin *sapius, from Latin sapere "have a taste, have good taste, be wise," from PIE root *sap- "to taste" (see sap (n.1)). Meaning "characterized by wisdom" is from 1530s. Related: Sageness.
sage (n.2)
"man of profound wisdom," mid-14c., from sage (adj.). Originally applied to the Seven Sages -- Thales, Solon, Periander, Cleobulus, Chilon, Bias, and Pittacus.
实用例句
1. Boil the water in the saucepan and add the sage.
把平底锅里的水烧开，然后加入鼠尾草。
来自柯林斯例句
2. I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.
我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告.
来自《简明英汉词典》
3. The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.
这位哲人是百代之师.
来自《简明英汉词典》
4. Not everybody is a sage. Who can be entirely free from error?
