proverb
noun/ˈprɒvɜːb/
/ˈprɑːvɜːrb/
- a well-known phrase or sentence that gives advice or says something that is generally true, for example ‘Waste not, want not.’
- As the old proverb has it: ‘A stitch in time saves nine.’
Extra ExamplesTopics Languageb2- As a Chinese proverb has it: ‘The fish will be the last to discover the water.’
- a dictionary of proverbs
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French proverbe, from Latin proverbium, from pro- ‘(put) forth’ + verbum ‘word’.Definitions on the go
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proverb