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.’Extra ExamplesTopics Languageb2
- As the old proverb has it: ‘A stitch in time saves nine’.
- 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’.