gnomic1 (nomik)

[ There is a really gnomic force in the use to which he [Heywood] puts his power in the few serious words at the close of this interlude. A. W. Ward , Eng. Dram. Lit., I. 136. The sententious, satiric song, to be met with in the 14th, 58th, and 82d Psalms, this Ewald calls gnomic poetry. Gilfillan , Bards of the Bible, p. 63. The Ballad of Arabella is one of those familiar pieces of satire indulged in more frequently by newspaper wags than by gnomic poets. N. A. Rev., CXXVI. 184. 2. In gram., used in maxims or general statements; applied to expre a universal truth: as, a gnomic aorist.