sagely

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɪd͡ʒli/

• Audio (US):

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Etymology 1

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

Adverb

sagely (comparative more sagely, superlative most sagely)

1. In the manner of a sage, with wisdom, wisely.
   • 1885, Catherine Louisa Pirkis, Lady Lovelace:

     […] Phil offering and giving advice sagely and gravely

   • November 10, 1917, Willard Connely, The Independent, Volume 92, "Making Sailors without Ships", Independent Publications, pages 299-300

     This pro-war impression on the populace the Navy Department sagely foresaw when it sent its men into the unbriny Northwest.

   • 1977, Edna O'Brien, Arabian Days, page 102:

     The sheikh comes back in, and slowly, we can become a little more personal in our discussion and he nods sagely and then renods.

   • 1984, Tim LaHaye, Beverly LaHaye, What Lovemaking Means to a Man, page 32:

     Dr. Ed Wheat has sagely said, “Every physical union should be a contest to see which partner can outplease the other.”

Etymology 2

From sage +‎ -ly (adjectival suffix).

Adjective

sagely (comparative more sagely, superlative most sagely)

1. Resembling or characteristic of a sage.
   • 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:

     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.

   • 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:

     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.

   • 2024 September 12, Walker Mimms, “A Double Homage for James Baldwin’s 100th. Will It Ever Be Enough?”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 September 2024:

     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.”

Derived terms

• sageliness

Anagrams

• Galeys