sage grouse, sage hen, or sage cock: see grouse.

sage, any species of the large genus Salvia, aromatic herbs or shrubs of the family Labiatae (mint family). The common sage of herb gardens is S. officinalis, a strongly scented shrubby perennial, native from S Europe to Asia Minor. The dried leaves are used as seasoning, especially in dressings for meat and poultry and also in sage cheese; sage tea, once popular as a beverage, has also been used as a domestic remedy for colds and other ailments and as a hair rinse; the oil is used in medicinals and flavorings and sometimes in perfumery. Prized since ancient times, common sage was thought to prolong life and to increase wisdom by strengthening the memory—whence the name. The ornamental sages are often popularly called salvia. Of these the scarlet sage (S. splendens), native to Brazil, is best known. Clary (S. sclarea), native from the Mediterranean region to Iran, is a biennial sage whose seeds were once used to "clear the eye"; it has bluish or pinkish flowers, and its oil is sometimes used similarly to that of the common sage. The seeds of some species of W North America, e.g., the thistle sage (S. carduacea) of California, were used by Native Americans for a flour and a beverage. Another species is S. carnosa, the purple sage of the western deserts. Most sages are good honey plants. One of the lantanas (see verbena) is sometimes called red or yellow sage. Sage is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Lamiales, family Labiatae.

Sage, Russell, 1815-1906, American financier, b. Oneida co., N.Y. He was successful in the grocery business in Troy, N.Y. Active in public affairs, he became (1845) alderman of Troy and served (1853-56) as a Whig member of Congress. He continued to amass great wealth by banking, and after moving (1863) to New York City he engaged in stock speculation. In association with Jay Gould, he gained extensive financial control in several Western railroads, in the elevated railway system in New York City, and in the Western Union Telegraph Company. An attempt to assassinate him in 1891 failed, resulting in the death of the would-be assassin, Henry Norcross. Upon Sage's death, the distribution of his fortune was left in the hands of his widow, Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, 1828-1918. She made large gifts to the Emma Willard School and to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy; established Russell Sage College; and donated money to other educational organizations and to benevolent societies. Marsh Island in the Gulf of Mexico was bought by her in 1912 and given to Louisiana as a bird sanctuary. The great single benefaction was the establishment (1907) of the Russell Sage Foundation in New York City. This institution, endowed with a total of $15 million for "the improvement of social and living conditions" in the United States, did pioneer work in cooperating with various social agencies. In addition to conducting research activities in social welfare, public health, education, government, and law, the foundation has also been concerned with the possibilities of increased use of social-science techniques in the practicing professions.

Le Sage, Alain René, 1668-1747, French novelist and dramatist. His masterpiece, Gil Blas de Santillane (1715-35, tr. by Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, 1749), is a rambling story in the style of Spanish picaresque romances, though unlike them in conception. It is instead strongly realistic, especially in its incidents; exact description of exterior and physical appearance suffices to show character and to imply moral judgment. Gil Blas was a major influence in the development of the realistic novel. Smollett drew heavily on it, especially in Roderick Random. Of Le Sage's lesser novels, Le Diable boiteux (1707; tr. The Devil upon Two Sticks, 1708) is an adaptation of a Spanish novel, and Le Bachelier de Salamanque (1736, tr. 1737) is an imitation of Gil Blas. Le Sage made his living by writing light pieces for the theaters of Paris; his best dramatic work is Turcaret (1709), a comedy of character, which bitterly satirizes tax farmers and the world of finance in general.

Aromatic perennial herb (Salvia officinalis) of the mint family, native to the Mediterranean. Its leaves are used fresh or dried as a flavouring in many foods. The stems, 2 ft (60 cm) tall, have rough or wrinkled, downy, gray-green or whitish green oval leaves. The flowers may be purple, pink, white, or red. Since the Middle Ages, sage tea has been brewed as a spring tonic and a stimulant believed to strengthen the memory and promote wisdom. Seealso salvia.

Learn more about sage with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Aug. 4, 1816, Shenandoah, N.Y., U.S.—died July 22, 1906, Lawrence Beach, N.Y.) U.S. financier. He worked as an errand boy, studying arithmetic and bookkeeping in his spare time, and in 1839 he started a wholesale grocery business, which earned him enough money to start a Hudson River shipping trade. He served in Congress (1853–57). Sage invested successfully in the La Crosse Railroad in Wisconsin, and he eventually acquired an interest in more than 40 railroads, serving as director or president of 20. He helped organize the Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Co. In 1872 he originated stock-market puts and calls (options to buy or sell a set amount of stock at a set price and within a given time limit), but he stopped dealing in them after losing $7 million in the panic of 1884. His wife, Margaret Olivia Sage, established the Russell Sage Foundation and Russell Sage College (Troy, N.Y.) after his death.

Learn more about Sage, Russell with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Aug. 4, 1816, Shenandoah, N.Y., U.S.—died July 22, 1906, Lawrence Beach, N.Y.) U.S. financier. He worked as an errand boy, studying arithmetic and bookkeeping in his spare time, and in 1839 he started a wholesale grocery business, which earned him enough money to start a Hudson River shipping trade. He served in Congress (1853–57). Sage invested successfully in the La Crosse Railroad in Wisconsin, and he eventually acquired an interest in more than 40 railroads, serving as director or president of 20. He helped organize the Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Co. In 1872 he originated stock-market puts and calls (options to buy or sell a set amount of stock at a set price and within a given time limit), but he stopped dealing in them after losing $7 million in the panic of 1884. His wife, Margaret Olivia Sage, established the Russell Sage Foundation and Russell Sage College (Troy, N.Y.) after his death.

Learn more about Sage, Russell with a free trial on Britannica.com.