proverbs
proverbs is the plural of proverb.
proverbs is the third-person singular simple present indicative of proverb.
Meaning of proverb
Noun
proverb (plural proverbs)
- A commonly used sentence expressing popular wisdom.
- Near-synonyms: aphorism, maxim, adage, saw, saying, apothegm, byword, paroemia, sententia (Latin)
- 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
- 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
- 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
- A drama exemplifying a proverb.
Proper noun capitalized: Proverbs
Proverbs or the Proverbs sg or pl (normally plural, singular Proverb)
- A book of the Old Testament of Bible, and of the Tanakh, being a collection of moral maxims.
- The Proverbs are an excellent springboard for broad-ranging Bible study. If you study Solomon’s pearls of wisdom, you will find the Spirit of God leading you (by chain references or quiet remembrance) all over the Old and New Testaments for confirming, clarifying examples.2005, Greg Hinnant, “May I Recommend the Proverbs?”, in Precious Pearls from the Proverbs, Creation House, →ISBN, page 6
- Erman’s remark (1924) that a decent wisdom book was destroyed when it was absorbed into the book of Proverbs coheres well with the scholarly consensus that Proverbs is a clumsy accretion of ill-digested material.2008, Peter T.H. Hatton, “Unity and Diversity in Proverbs”, in Contradiction in the Book of Proverbs: The Deep Waters of Counsel (Society for Old Testament Study Series), Ashgate Publishing, →ISBN...
Forms of proverbs
| singular | Proverb |
|---|---|
| alternative form | Prov. |
Words formed from proverbs
Phrases with proverbs
Questions about proverbs
- What does proverbs mean?
- Proverbs means a book of the Old Testament of Bible, and of the Tanakh, being a collection of moral maxims.
- What is proverbs the plural of?
- Proverbs is the plural of proverb.
- What part of speech is proverbs?
- Proverbs is a proper noun.
Words near proverbs in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: proverbs (page history and authors); Proverbs (page history and authors); proverb (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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