PROVERB
proverb, adage, saw, byword
(noun) a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
proverb (plural proverbs)
A phrase expressing a basic truth which may be applied to common situations.
A striking or paradoxical assertion; an obscure saying; an enigma; a parable.
A familiar illustration; a subject of contemptuous reference.
A drama exemplifying a proverb.
Synonyms
• (phrase expressing a basic truth): adage, apothegm, byword, maxim, paroemia, saw, saying, sententia
• See also saying
Verb
proverb (third-person singular simple present proverbs, present participle proverbing, simple past and past participle proverbed)
To write or utter proverbs.
To name in, or as, a proverb.
To provide with a proverb.
Source: Wiktionary
Prov"erb, n. Etym: [OE. proverbe, F. proverbe, from L. proverbium; pro before, for + verbum a word. See Verb.]
1. An old and common saying; a phrase which is often repeated; especially, a sentence which briefly and forcibly expresses some practical truth, or the result of experience and observation; a maxim; a saw; an adage. Chaucer. Bacon.
2. A striking or paradoxical assertion; an obscure saying; an enigma; a parable. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. John xvi. 29.
3. A familiar illustration; a subject of contemptuous reference. Thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by word, among all nations. Deut. xxviii. 37.
4. A drama exemplifying a proverb. Book of Proverbs, a canonical book of the Old Testament, containing a great variety of wise maxims.
Syn.
– Maxim; aphorism; apothegm; adage; saw.
Prov"erb, v. t.
1. To name in, or as, a proverb. [R.] Am I not sung and proverbed for a fool Milton.
2. To provide with a proverb. [R.] I am proverbed with a grandsire phrase. Shak.
Prov"erb, v. i.
Definition: To write or utter proverbs. [R.]
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
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23 April 2025
UNMARRIED
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