apothegm
Ap´o`thegm
Noun 1. apothegm - a short pithy instructive saying
aphorism, apophthegm

"Youth sheds many skins."

Would this be an apothegm? In other words, how instructive does an apothegm have to be to be called an apothegm?

And what's the etymology here?

It's greek to me.

[ad. (perh. through med.L. *apothegma) Gr. 2p¾uhecla something clearly spoken, a terse saying, f. 2pouhŒcc-erhai to speak one's opinion clearly, f. 2p¾ forth + uhŒccerhai to utter a sound, speak. The spelling apothegm was the more usual till preference was expressed in Johnson's Dict. for apophthegm, which is now more frequent in England. Webster adopts apothegm, which Worcester also thinks ‘perhaps best supported by common usage.’ Cf. Fr. apophthegme, Sp.
apothegma, It. apotegma.]

A terse, pointed saying, embodying an important truth in few words; a pithy or sententious maxim.

1553–87 Foxe A. & M. III. 145 marg. note, Another Apothegma of D. Taylor. 1572 J. Bossewell Armorie ii. 106b, His Apothegme or word, Cor vnum, via una. 1586 J. Hooker Girald. Hist. Irel. in Holinsh. II. 97/1 Graue and pithie apophthegmes. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 23 The Apothegmes, or reputed replyes of wisdome, whereof many are to be seen in Laertius. 1791 Boswell Johnson (1816) II. 360 Johnson suddenly uttered+an apophthegm, at which many will start: ‘Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.’ 1813 Knox & Jebb Corr. II. 170 The apothegms, and aculeated sayings of the ancients. 1832 Scott Talism. (1854) 359 Hearing his misery made+the ground of apothegms and proverbs. 1855 Milman Lat. Chr. (1864) IX. xiv. v. 204 The rare talent of compressing a mass of profound thought into an apophthegm. 1879 Farrar Paul I. 593 The admirable Hebrew apophthegm, Learn to say I do not know.

OED2

As if the Spelling Bee wasn't already hard enough....Gee, thanks, Dr. J!