Wiktionary

ambage

English

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle English ambages, from French ambage as well as its etymon Latin ambāgēs (“a roundabout or circuitous path”).[1][2]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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ambage (countable and uncountable, plural ambages)

  1. (rhetoric, literary, often in the plural) Evasive or ambiguous language; circumlocution.
    • Puttenham, Art of Poesie
      without any long studie or tedious ambage
    • 1607, Decker, Whore of Babylon:
      Umh! y' are full of ambage.
  2. (rhetoric, literary, often in the plural) An indirect or obscure path.

References

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  1. ^ “ambage”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  2. ^ “ambage, n.”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

French

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Etymology

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    Learned borrowing from Latin ambāgēs.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    ambage m (plural ambages)

    1. (chiefly in the plural) ambage
      sans ambages ― straight from the shoulder, bluntly

    Further reading

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    Italian

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    Etymology

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    From Latin ambāgēs.

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /amˈba.d͡ʒe/
    • Rhymes: -adʒe
    • Hyphenation: am‧bà‧ge

    Noun

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    ambage f (plural ambagi)

    1. (usually in the plural) ambage

    Further reading

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    • “ambage”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

    Latin

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    Noun

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    ambāge

    1. ablative singular of ambāgēs
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