proverb
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English
Etymology
From Old French proverbe, from Latin proverbium.
Pronunciation
Noun
proverb (plural proverbs)
- A commonly used sentence expressing popular wisdom.
- Coordinate terms: epigram, idiom; see also Thesaurus:saying
- Near-synonyms: aphorism, maxim
- (obsolete) A striking or paradoxical assertion; an obscure saying; an enigma; a parable.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, John 16:29:
- His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.
- (obsolete) A familiar illustration; a subject of contemptuous reference.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Deuteronomy 28:37:
- Thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by word, among all nations.
- (obsolete) A drama exemplifying a proverb.
Synonyms
- (commonly used sentence expressing popular wisdom): adage, apothegm, byword, maxim, paroemia, saw, saying, sententia
- See also Thesaurus:saying
Derived terms
Terms derived from "proverb"
Translations
phrase expressing a basic truth
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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.
- 1671, John Milton, Samson Agonistes, lines 203–205:
- Am I not sung and proverbed for a fool / In every street, do they not say, "How well / Are come upon him his deserts?"
- To provide with a proverb.
- c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :
- I am proverbed with a grandsire phrase.
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “proverb”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)
See also
References
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin proverbium, French proverbe.
Pronunciation
Noun
proverb n (plural proverbe)
Declension
Declension of proverb
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
| nominative/accusative | (un) proverb | proverbul | (niște) proverbe | proverbele |
| genitive/dative | (unui) proverb | proverbului | (unor) proverbe | proverbelor |
| vocative | proverbule | proverbelor | ||
Further reading
- proverb in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)