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



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Word of the Day

29 November 2024

POPULATED

(adjective) furnished with inhabitants; “the area is well populated”; “forests populated with all kinds of wild life”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the most massive cup of coffee contained 22,739.14 liters and was created by Alcaldía Municipal de Chinchiná (Colombia) at Parque de Bolívar, Chinchiná, Caldas, Colombia, on 15 June 2019. Fifty people worked for more than a month to build this giant cup. The drink prepared was Arabic coffee.

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