prouerbe

Noun

proverb (plural proverbs)

1. A commonly used sentence expressing popular wisdom.
   • Near-synonyms: aphorism, maxim, adage, saw, saying, apothegm, byword, paroemia, sententia (Latin)

   Synonyms:

   aphorism, maxim, adage, saw, saying, apothegm, byword, paroemia

2. (obsolete) Any commonly used turn of phrase expressing a metaphor, simile, or descriptive epithet.
   • The definition of a proverb is no simple matter and has occupied scholars from Ancient Greece until the present day. Lord John Russell defined the proverb as ‘the wisdom of many and the wit of one’. The celebrated Spanish writer Cervantes said that a proverb is ‘a short sentence drawn from long...2021 [1996], Colin S.K. Walker, Scottish Proverbs, Edinburgh, Scotland: Birlinn, →ISBN
3. (obsolete) 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.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 16:29
4. (obsolete) A familiar illustration; a subject of contemptuous reference.
   • Thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by word, among all nations.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy 28:37
5. (obsolete) A drama exemplifying a proverb.

See all 8 meanings of proverb